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COFXRiGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE FARMER'S DOG 




TEDDY THE TERROR. 
A Perfect Type of Working Airedale. 



The Farmer's Dog 



FOR WORK FOR PROFIT 
AND FOR SPORT 



J\%U BY 

A. F. HOCHWALT ' 

AUTHOR OF 

'Dogcraft," ''The Pointer and the Setter in America, 
'.'The Modern Pointer," "The Modern Setter," "The 
Airedale for Work and Show," "Practical Dog 
Keeping for the Amateur," "The Work- 
ing Dog and His Education," "Dogs 
as Home Companions," Etc. 



*a&r 



Sportsmen's Digest 
cincinnati 






Copyright, 1922, Sportsman's Dierest 
All Rights Reserved 



AUG 10 1922 



©CI.APS1329 



CONTENTS 



Preface xn 

Introduction xv 

PART ONE. 
Useful Breeds 

Chapter I. 

The Airedale — Short Story — His Pos- 
sibilities as a Stock and WatchDog — 
As an All-round Sporting Dog 1 

Chapter II. 

The Collie — The Old English Sheep 
Dog — Mixed Shepherd Breeds — The 
Shepherd, or Police Dog 15 

Chapter III. 

Other Useful and Profitable Breeds — 
Bird Dogs and Hounds 31 

PART TWO. 
Breeding, Care and Marketing 

Chapter I. 

Breeding Dogs For Pleasure and Profit 
— General Hints — Importance of 
Pedigree and the knowledge of what 
it Represents 45 



Chapter II. 
The Stud Dog and the Brood Matron 
— Oestrum — When it Occurs — Time 
for Breeding — Care of Matron Dur- 
ing Period of Gestation — Parturition 59 

Chapter III. 
Care after Whelping — Care of The 
Puppies During first Few W r eeks 
— Docking Tails — Vermifuges — 
Weaning 74 

Chapter IV. 
Selection of Puppies — Value of Bitch- 
es to Preserve Strain — How to 
Market — Conditions of Sale How to 
Ship '..-. 81 

PART THREE. 

Training for Practical Purposes 

Chapter I. 
Early Training Lessons for all Breeds 93 

Chapter II. 

The Training of the Stock Dog For 
General Use on the Farm 107 

Chapter III. 
Training of the Stock Dog — Continued 121 



PREFACE 

"M'OT long ago I met a bright young 
man over in Illinois who had 
been admitted to the bar about two 
years before. He was a lover of dogs 
and that is how we became ac- 
quainted. 

In the course of our conversation 
he confided to me much about his 
early life. "But," he said, "I attained 
what I was striving for, and I am now 
on the fair road to success. The nov- 
elty of it is, however, that I owe it all 
to dogs." 

Then he gave me the details ; how 
he lived on a farm with his people 
and how he struggled for his early 
education until finally he came to 
that period when he was ready to en- 
ter college, but with no resources to 
take that step. "I had," he continued, 
"an Airedale bitch. She was the all- 
round dog on the "farm. I used her to 
hunt squirrels and rabbits with, but 
when it came to ■ driving the cattle 
she was an expert. Later I bred her 
to a good dog and she raised a litter 



of eight puppies. I sold them all at 
an average of $25.00 each. That gave 
me an idea. I bred her the next time 
and raised seven. These sold at a 
higher average than the first litter, 
but from this litter I reserved one 
female. I had a fund started for col- 
lege and saw my way clear. Peggy, 
the old matron, had several more lit- 
ters, all of which sold profitably, and 
later on Patsey, the daughter, pre- 
sented me with a litter. I was going 
to college now, but the dogs were pay- 
ing my way, for the folks at home 
looked after their interests, though 1 
superintended the selling. I can 
truthfully say that I was sent to 
school by dogs." 

The story of this young man also 
gave me an idea. If dogs were a pay- 
ing investment for him on the farm, 
why not for others ? This book is the 
result of the young man's story. 

The Author. 
Dayton, Ohio. 



THE FARMER'S DOG 

A. F. HOCHWALT. 

INTRODUCTION 

A DOG for the farm ; what shall it 
**^ be? That is a question that may 
be answered largely according to 
one's own predilections in the matter, 
for there are a number of suitable, 
and profitable breeds. Naturally, it 
is assumed that the progressive 
farmer of today who interests him- 
self in a dog for all-round farm work, 
or dogs for profit, will select a breed 
that will bring returns in both ways. 
There was a time when any kind 
of a dog would do on the farm, just 
so he possessed a sufficient amount 
of intelligence to be amenable to the 
crude training necessary to make him 
a fair general service dog. Usually 
one of the varieties of the shepherd 
dog was the principal ingredient that 
entered into the composition of this 
nondescript of the farm and "Shep" 



was in most cases a long-coated ani- 
mal, sometimes resembling the collie, 
sometimes the old-time drover's dog, 
which later became the fancy old 
English sheepdog of the show bench, 
but quite as frequently his general 
appearance gave evidence that was 
conclusive proof of the versatility of 
his mother. 

It is quite true that many of these 
dogs, though entirely without pride 
of ancestry, were intelligent animals, 
but that is not extraordinary, for be- 
ing a compound of many breeds they 
occasionally inherited a little of the 
best from all of them, although per- 
haps every other son and daughter 
of the litter from which they came, 
might have acquired all of the worst. 
Shep, however, was the bright excep- 
tion and he went through life doing 
the work that was expected of him, 
sometimes proving to be a wonderful 
sheep and cattle dog, or even, if given 
the experience and frequent oppor- 
tunity, developing traits of the bird 
dog, the foxhound or beagle. Many 
a nondescript dog of this class I have 
seen that was truly a wonder. 



When Shep grew old, however, and 
there was need of procuring a 
younger dog to help the old fellow 
out, then the great question arose 
how to find a successor. The chances 
of Shep reproducing himself were a 
negligible equation, for being a con- 
glomeration of many breeds, the 
chances that his whelps might be any- 
thing from rat terriers to mastiffs 
were very good. The venture was too 
uncertain to even give it a trial and 
thus in nine cases out of ten Shep 
would pass out of life as the last of 
his race. What generally followed 
was the trying out of a dozen or more 
puppies, one after the other, before 
another was found which possessed 
the same degree of intelligence and 
sagacity as Shep, or more than likely, 
Shep was the one dog of a lifetime 
and could never be replaced, far no 
one knew how the elements varied 
that brought forth such a dog. 

Conditions are changing on the 

farm, however;, the demand for pure- 

, bred stock is becoming more general 

and the intelligent farmer is no longer 

content with scrub stock. He insists 



upon owning thoroughbred cattle, 
swine and sheep, realizing that it 
costs no more to raise pure-breds 
than it does scrubs and he knows, 
further, that there is always a market 
for registered stock at far higher 
prices than he could ever hope to ob- 
tain for the nondescripts. 

What applies to the other farm ani- 
mals is equally applicable to the dog, 
and many of our rural neighbors have 
already discarded their mongrel dogs 
in the full conviction that a pedigreed 
dog or two on the place is a paying 
investment, not only in the financial 
returns, but also in the direct results 
obtained in service. 

There is no gainsaying the fact that 
the demand for pure-bred dogs is be- 
coming greater every year and there 
is no reason why the farmer cannot 
supply this demand as well as the 
specialist dog breeder. As a matter 
of fact, a pedigreed bitch of any of 
the fashionable and useful breeds will 
bring better returns in quick money 
than any other animal on the farm. 
Furthermore, such a dog is more sus- 
ceptible to training and thus there is 



an advantage from the mere utility 
side of the question. 

Naturally, there is no royal road to 
success, but the intelligent farmer or 
dog lover who has the inclination, 
may find dog culture a very profita- 
ble and interesting side line which 
will require but little additional time, 
and if proper discrimination is exer- 
cised in the selection of the founda- 
tion stock and ordinary intelligence 
in following the maxims that every 
dog breeder should have at least a 
passing knowledge of, then success is 
assured. To such as these, this little 
book may prove of some value. 



PART ONE 

Useful Breeds 



CHAPTER I. 

The Airedale — Short History — His Pos- 
sibilities as a Stock and Watch Dog — 
As an All-round Sporting Dog, 

[ PLACE the Airedale first in the 
A list of useful breeds because he 
has become the dog of all nations. 
Not only is his popularity undimmed 
on the show bench, but he has also 
become the all-round dog for the 
stockman, the farmer, the upland 
shooter, the big game hunter; the 
wild fowler, the squirrel, the rabbit, 
the 'coon and the 'possum hunter, 
and then by way of variety he is also 
the playmate of the children, the 
watchdog and the companion for the 
automobile. 

In referring to the Airedale, how- 
ever, as the dog of a thousand roles, 
I have in mind the type bred from 
utility strains. There are a number 
of excellent bench strains whose use- 
fulness has not been impaired, be- 



The Farmer's Dog 




THE AIREDALE, "FURORE FIRST FLIGHT. 



cause the members of the family are 
used continually for practical pur- 
poses, but on the other hand, many 
of the show strains have been so "im- 
proved," from generation to genera- 
tion, and have had no work pf any 
kind, hence much of the natural sa- 
gacity that is a heritage of the breed 
has been either bred out of them or 
lies dormant. The mad desire for 



The Farmer's Dog 3 

"fine show points" has created havoc 
with many a useful breed of dog, and 
it is doing so with the Airedale in cer- 
tain quarters, but thanks to the 
sportsmen of the country, there are 
still numerous families of the breed 
still bred for practical purposes, by 
men who consider utility first and 
bench wins as a secondary feature. 
For this reason the Airedale will 
always remain a working dog, or 
rather there will always be sufficient 
families to draw from in order to 
.breed the service Airedale, even 
though some of the bench varieties 
are going the way of some strains of 
pointers and setters ; namely, being 
bred for looks alone. 

I do not mean that the man seeking 
for a practical strain of Airedales 
must disregard the essential quali- 
ties in the matter of proper coat, well- 
carried ear, good color and varminty 
expression, but in making his selec- 
tions, he must see to it that they come 
from strains which have been used for 
practical purposes in all the various 



4 The Farmer's Dog 

ramifications. Dogs coming from 
strains which never see the outside 
of their kennels except when going 
to and from shows, are not the kind 
that the farmer, stockman or sports- 
man will find lucrative to cultivate, 
for his market will be among those 
people who want a useful, all-round 
dog and not a show dog, sans brains 
and the capacity for service. 

In making one's selection it is well 
to know something about the strain 
from which the puppies that one buys 
are descended. There are extremes 
both ways. In some localities one 
still finds Airedales ranging all the 
way from sixty-five to ninety pounds. 
Such a dog is too large to be shifty; 
it is therefore advisable to adhere 
to the lighter weights. Dogs ranging 
from forty-five to fifty pounds and 
bitches slightly less, are large enough 
even for big game hunting, such as 
bear, cougar, bobcats, etc. Further- 
more, if they come from a game fam- 
ily they are really of more use than 
the extreme weights, first because 



The Farmer s Dog 5 

they are shiftier and secondly, they 
represent less bulk. On the other 
hand, the undersized specimens run- 
ning from thirty to forty pounds, are 
too small. Briefly, therefore, it is well 
to bear in mind that you select your 
stock from game, working strains 
which mature at something near the 
desirable weights specified. 

Why is the Airedale the jack-of-all- 
trades among dogs? The question 
may be rightfully asked, for it is well 
to know something of his history in 
order to properly understand the dog. 
Briefly, he is a mixture of many 
breeds and at his fountain-head he 
was no doubt similar in many re- 
spects to the all-round farm dog, Shep. 
But unlike Shep, the Airedale was 
bred on in succeeding generations to 
his own kind, the most likely and 
typical specimens being utilized for 
that purpose, for in these early days, 
the Airedale was not yet commer- 
cialized and those pioneer breeders 
of the valley of the Aire, the place 
of his origin, had but one object in 



The Farmer's Dog 




AIREDALE. 



view and that was to produce a useful 
all-round dog, suitable as a com- 
panion for the home, and a satisfac- 
tory tyke for any kind of sport that 
might be available. Along the banks 



The Farmer's Dog 7 

of the Aire and its tributaries there 
was always good sport in hunting the 
rats that infested its banks and many 
a Saturday afternoon's good sport 
was had by those hardy Yorkshire- 
men in making matches against their 
neighbor's dog. As a matter of fact, 
it became a regular field trial in 
which dogs were judged with as much 
seriousness as one finds in bird dog 
trials. Usually, a given stretch along 
the river was designated. Two dogs 
were put down together. The dog 
spotting the hole which contained a 
rat scored two points and the dog 
which made the kill, one, thus at the 
end of the stretch it was an easy mat- 
ter to determine the winner. Even 
though those workmen were mill and 
factory hands they did not hesitate to 
back their favorites to the extent of 
their weekly wages on more than one 
occasion. In addition to the rats 
along the river banks there were the 
martins and the polecats, the badgers 
and foxes in the rocky fastnesses of 
the nearby hills and these also fur- 



8 The Farmer s Dog 

nished a . world of sport, for those 
Yorkshiremen were and still are 
sportsmen. If, by way of variety, one 
of those hardy tenants of the Aire 
Valley wished for still more excite- 
ment, there was the manor not far 
away and it was an easy matter to 
slip in upon these premises on a dark 
night when the keepers were unsus- 
pecting, and take a hare or a pheas- 
ant, in which work the Airedale was 
taught to become equally adept. 
Again, there was the otter to be found 
in some of the streams occasionally, 
and fighting in the water is the special 
forte of the Airedale, for he comes to 
it by right of his heredity since one 
of his early progenitors is the otter 
hound. It was from the latter breed 
that the Airedale inherited his pily 
undercoat which is impervious to 
water, while from the terrier varieties 
that helped to make up his early an- 
cestry, he received the wiry outer 
jacket that is also so essential. In- 
deed, even to this day one finds a 
throw-back occasionally to the 



The Farmers Dog 9 

houndy ears and yellow eyes of the 
otter hound that crop out now and 
then in the best of families. Breed- 
ing generation after generation of 
these utility dogs by selecting the 
best specimens of the locality, these 
hardy Yorkshiremen produced an all- 
round dog with no thought of bench 
shows in those early days. Naturally 
there was still much variety of type, 
it is true, but there were few dogs bred 
that did not inherit all the intelli- 
gence and the sagacity of their many- 
sided genealogy. If a worthless speci- 
men was produced now and then, he 
was promptly discarded and thus 
eventually this breeding by selection 
had its good effects. 

While it required a number of 
years before the fame of the Airedale 
spread to other parts of England, he 
attained a considerable local reputa- 
tion and spread rapidly throughout 
Yorkshire, and there was scarcely a 
cottager living in that thickly settled 
manufacturing district who did not 



10 The Farmer's Dog 

possess his tyke — or perhaps half a 
dozen. 

It was along in the early seventies 
that the first show for Airedales was 
held at Otley. Naturally, those first 
shows brought together a heterogene- 
ous lot of dogs with types as varied 
as they were entries, but this is only 
the natural sequence of mixing up 
various breeds into one. It was the 
same thing when, years agp, the much 
lauded so-called "Llewellin" setter 
was brought before the public. The 
Llewellin was a mixed breed at its 
foundation-head and the evidence of 
it was always apparent in the later 
generations. However, it is sur- 
prising what the Airedale breeders 
did in a short time. As a matter of 
fact, they succeeded much better than 
the setter breeders, for now type is 
about as well fixed in the Airedale 
as it is in any of the oldest of breeds. 

Those shows at Otley did much 
toward attracting fanciers from other 
parts of England to see this newest 
and biggest of terriers. There was 



The Farmer s Dog 1 1 

considerable controversy about the 
name; for a time they were known 
as Waterside terriers and again as 
Bingley terriers in honor of the town 
where they were supposed to have 
originated. Finally, however, after 
various experiments in the way of a 
name Airedale terrier was fixed upon, 
because it was really in the valley of 
the Aire and not any particular town 
in that locality where the breed 
sprang up. Terrier may be a mis- 
nomer because of the dog's size, for 
terriers are supposed to go under- 
ground for their quarry, but no mat- 
ter how that may be, the dog has ter- 
rier traits and whether the word ter- 
rier is added or not, Airedale he will 
remain until the end of time. 

Breeders of the south of England 
soon began taking up the breed after 
he once received his start in the North 
and it was greatly due to them that 
the breed became so well advertised. 
The English kennel club eventually 
recognized the dog as a distinct breed 
and show men of the south of Eng- 



12 The Farmer s Dog 

land began "fining him down." 
Whether this was a good or a bad 
thing is a mooted question, but never- 
theless it is a certainty that this as- 
sisted very materially in populariz- 
ing him. What kept the Airedale 
from going entirely the way of many 
of these "fined down" bench show 
breeds is the fact that he began to be 
taken up by sportsmen in all parts 
of the world. America soon became 
interested, and though we have our 
distinct line of demarkation in the 
way of working strains and pure show 
strains, the Airedale will ever remain 
the great all-round dog. 

It is not my intention of going into 
a prolix history of the breed in this 
little book, but the interested reader 
who is desirous of knowing more 
about the breed and the many strains 
that are popular, is referred to an 
earlier work of mine entitled, "The 
Airedale for Work and Show." To 
the neophyte, however, a few words 
may not be amiss. If you are select- 
ing dogs for all-round work, endeavor 



The Farmer s Dog 13 

to obtain either puppies or young 
stock from strains that show the 
breed characteristics. Do not be too 
particular in getting the extremely 
long heads, narrow flat skulls and 
weak quarters and stifles which so 
many of the simon-pirVe show strains 
possess. Select a dog with good color, 
that is, black saddle and rich tan 
markings, with a short back, an 
abundance of bone in legs, well 
sprung ribs, a level mouth, small dark 
eyes and good strength of jaw. If 
the dog has the long head and the 
other show points, all right, but do not 
discard a sound specimen from a 
working strain for an unsound one, 
simply because he is a better show 
dog. The working dog is the one 
for which there will be a greater de- 
mand from the general public than 
the out-and-out show dog which may 
never be a service animal. In select- 
ing bitches, size is not so essential, 
but procure one of the snappy, fiery 
kind with an abundance of terrier 
character that is absolutely game. It 



14 The Farmer s Dog 

is from these bitches that the best re- 
sults are obtained, for though they 
may be somewhat small, by breeding 
to a dog of good bone and substance, 
say, fifty pounds in weight, the gen- 
eral average may be maintained. 
Study the blood lines carefully. As- 
certain everything possible about the 
family on both sides. Investigate 
whether or not the ancestors in the 
pedigree have been actual utility dogs 
and the more of these practical kind 
that are in the lineage, the more likely 
you are to succeed in perpetuating 
intelligent, sagacious and game Aire- 
dales. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Collie— The Old English Sheep- 
dog — Mixed Shepherd Breeds — The 
Shepherd or Police Dog. 

T^HE shepherd dog in various forms 
"*■ is unquestionably one of the 
oldest breeds of the canine species. 
We read of them in ancient literature 
and in the Bible they are referred to 
on various occasions. Whether the 
shepherd dog of those days was sim- 
ilar to the collie and other bree4s of 
today is a question. The chances "are, 
they were not, but built more like the 
old-time mastiffs of which we see 
prints in books of the middle ages. 
In those ancient days it was necessary 
to have a dog that could protect the 
flocks against the ravages of wolves, 
consequently he was a larger, heavier 
type of dog than we see today, ex- 
cept in parts of this country, and also 
in other lands where dogs of this class 
are still required. 



16 



The Farmer s Dog 




THE WHITE COLLIE JEFFERSON WHITE BABE, 

The collie is pre-eminently the gen- 
tleman type of shepherd dog ; a hand- 
some, outstanding animal that at- 
tracts attention everywhere. Truth 



The Farmer s Dog 17 

to tell, he has had so much attention 
focused on him that he has become 
the idol of the bench show fancier, 
and in. the making of a handsome, 
attractive show specimen, much of 
the usefulness has been bred out of 
him. It is simply a repetition of what 
happened to many other breeds. By 
nature the collie is an intelligent ani- 
mal, though in many strains, genera- 
tions of breeding for the fine points 
has in a great measure destroyed not 
only his usefulness as a stock dog, 
but has made of him a weakling. 
Fortunately, however, as in the. case 
of many dogs that have been made 
show dogs, there are always a number 
of people who still recognize the 
utility side of the animal and breed 
them for use, and it is frorh such as 
these that the farmer or stockman 
should select his specimens. The col- 
lies are easily broken to drive cattle, 
sheep, or in fact, any other live stock, 
and while one finds an impetuous 
specimen at times, as a rule they are 



18 The Farmer s Dog 

very careful with their stock and do 
not rush them. Some say that the 
collie will never do this, but this is 
very much a manner of training. His 
master is his tutor. If the latter is 
rough and abusive toward the ani- 
mals on the farm, the collie will soon 
acquire these rough traits ; if on the 
other hand, he is properly taught 
from a youngster he will make a most 




"SHEP," A SPLENDID COLLIE. 

valuable asset. The collie has his 
faults, it is true, even those coming 
from real working strains, and these 



The Farmer s Dog 19 

faults generally arise from his ex- 
treme restlessness and activity. The 
collie must have something to do. He 
will drive the chickens, he will stand 
guard over a flock of geese, he will 
be here, there, everywhere, poking his 
nose in this corner and that, forever 
on the move, and little transpires 
about the farm that he does not mix 
up in, especially when it has to do 
with live stock. Some are inclined to 
pick up quarrels with other dogs and 
in a scrimmage they usually hold 
their own, but the collie cannot, as a 
breed, be called quarrelsome. As a 
paying investment for breeding pur- 
poses, the breed is a most satisfactory 
one. Naturally the average farmer 
will want to breed dogs that are fit for 
work and not for show purposes 
alone, but that does not mean that he 
cannot breed good, typy specimens 
that will command fair prices. All 
colors are in demand: the sable and 
whites, tri-colors, blue merles, and 
the pure whites; the latter color in 
some localities is becoming quite pop- 



20 The Farmer s Dog 

ular. As a rule one does not find the 
high quality show specimens among 
the whites, for it is extremely proba- 
ble that other mixtures have been 
used in order to retain the pure white 
color, but however that may be, those 
I have seen of this color were ex- 
tremely intelligent, and what is more, 
seem to be gaining favor rapidly. 

In this connection it might be said 
that in many parts of the West and 
also in Canada, the collie has been 
crossed with other breeds for the pur- 
pose of creating a stronger dog. In 
doing this they also produced intelli- 
gent animals. These sheep dogs of 
the northwest would not pass muster 
on the show bench, but when it comes 
to a useful animal they are very saga- 
cious. However, dogs of this class, 
not being pedigreed, nor breeding 
true to type, would scarcely com- 
mand prices that are paid for pure- 
bred stock. The farmer wishing to 
take up the collie for profit would 
better stick to the pedigreed animal 
descended from strains that are 



The Farmer s Dog 21 

known to be working dogs, and in 
doing this he will have the kind of dog 
that will be useful, not only on his 
own place, but command a good price 
on the market. 

Some years ago the so-called 
smooth collie seemed to be gaining 
favor in this country, but with the 
rapid rise of the shepherd, or police 
dog, the desire for this breed waned. 
No doubt the name, smooth collie, 
is a misnomer, but it is recognized 
by this name in the American Ken- 
nel Club classification. This breed 
is in reality a nearer descendant 
to the old-time sheep dog than the 
rough-coated collie. While his origin 
is left greatly to speculation, his ap- 
pearance and his temperamental 
characteristics seem to indicate that 
he may be a modern evolution of the 
old-time "mastins." He is said to be 
very sagacious and makes an excel- 
lent stock dog, both as a driver and 
a guardian of the flocks. 

In England and Scotland he has 
always been more popular than here, 



22 The Farmer s Dog 

though no doubt, if some enterpris- 
ing breeder would take up the breed 
in America, and show his qualities as 
a workman, it might soon be popu- 
larized, despite the present popularity 
of the shepherd or police dog. 

The Old English sheep dog was 
originally a real working dog, but the 
kind we meet with nowadays would 
scarcely fill the requirements of the 
practical farmer. He is a large, 
square-headed dog, with immense 
coat, which requires endless time to 
keep in condition. No doubt the 
present-day type is a very much ex- 
aggerated "improvement" of the old 
drover's dog, but if these present-day 
specimens as seen at bench shows are 
of any use now, I have yet to see it 
demonstrated, although it is said that 
here and there they are still used for 
practical purposes. There is a cer- 
tain demand for the Old English 
Sheepdog and no doubt all the pup- 
pies that could be raised might be 
easily sold, but the breed is a diffi- 
cult one to care for and the returns 



The Farmer s Dog 



23 



for the trouble would be small as 
compared with other breeds. 

The shepherd, or police dog, 
formerly known as the German shep- 




IMPORTED ARGUS VON BLASIENBERG. 



herd, is one of the most popular 
breeds of the day and as he is an in- 
telligent, as well as a handsome ani- 
mal, he bids fair to retain his place 
in popular favor for some time to 
come. This dog, in many respects, 



24 The Farmer s Dog 

resembles the Airedale for many- 
sided qualities, though, of course, he 
is a dog of entirely different type. 
Unless the bench show element ruins 
the breed, it should become a very 
useful one for all purposes. Perhaps 
he is not the specialist in stock driv- 
ing that the collie may be, although 
I have heard of isolated cases where 
he proved to be equally as good as 
the best of collies. The shepherd dog 
has other uses, however, that make 
him a practical dog for the farm as 
well as the city or the suburban 
places. He is a first-class watch dog 
and can be taught to run down crim- 
inals or hold them after he brings 
them to bay. He is rightly called 
a police dog, for he can perform many 
of the duties of the human policeman 
as sagaciously as the latter. He 
knows no fear; his excellent nose 
leads him to detect the presence of 
strangers, his acute hearing is almost 
uncanny, for he will hear the slight- 
est noise that would escape his human 
master entirely. He possesses great 



The Farmer s Dog 25 

strength and can hold any criminal 
that may be cornered, and if it is 
necessary to trail a criminal, he is al- 
most as expert as the bloodhound, es- 
pecially after he has had training 
along these lines. As previously 
stated, the dog is very intelligent and 
may be easily taught any of the ac- 
complishments of police duty as well 
as the art of taking care of stock on 
the farm. In respect to sporting in- 
stincts, the Airedale has, of course, 
the advantage, for the latter can be 
used for hunting furred and feathered 
game which the shepherd is scarcely 
fitted for. I have heard it said that 
occasionally isolated specimens of 
the breed could be taught to run rab- 
bits or tree by night and day, but this 
is not a characteristic of the breed, 
hence one must not expect too much 
of them. 

The shepherd has a wolfish appear- 
ance, with high set prick ears, narrow 
muzzle and wide skull. In height 
the males run from 22 to 25 inches, 



26 The Farmer s Dog 




THE ROUGH-COATED COLLIE CH. EASTWOOD 

ENSIGN. 

A Modern Bench Show Collie. 

the standard calling for 26 inches as 
the maximum; those over that 
height are considered too large. Fe- 
males should run from 211/4 to 23*4 
inches, with 24 inches as the maxi- 
mum. Naturally, the fancier who is 
interested in utility alone, will not be 
so much concerned in drawing the 
question of size too closely, though 



The Farmer s Dog 27 

dogs that are too large are lacking in 
shiftiness, while, on the other hand, 
if they are too small, they are unable 
to cope with the enemies they are 
called upon to meet. 

The Shepherd should stand up 
squarely on straight front legs when 
viewed from all sides. The hind legs 
should have sufficient bend in the 
stifles to give quickness in action, but 
there must not be too much sweep 
from hip to hock. The jaws must be 
strong, with lips tight and dry and 
not hanging over in flews as is the 
case with hound varieties. The teeth 
must be large and strong, meeting 
evenly and not under or overshot. 
The smooth-haired specimens are 
preferred though one encounters 
rough or wire-haired ones occasion- 
ally, and also what are known as 
long-haired varieties, though the two 
latter are not met with commonly. 
By smooth-haired is meant coats 
about two and a half inches in length, 



28 The Farmer y s Dog 

the outer coat stiff and straight, but 
lying close to the body. The head, in- 
cluding inside of the ears, front of the 
legs, paws and toes are covered with 
short hair and the neck with longer 
and thicker hair; slight fringe on the 
back of the legs is desirable. The 
color varies : black, iron-grey, red- 
dish tan, reddish-brown (either en- 
tirely of one color or with regular 
markings of reddish brown with 
whitish grey) ; pure white, white 
with dark spots (harlequin), or black 
clouding on grey, tan or light brown 
with the so-called wolf markings, or 
with white markings on breast and 
legs. 

When running the dog should move 
evenly and harmoniously, the strides 
being long and elastic, lifting the feet 
only just clear of the ground. It is 
in reality the wolf gait and in view 
of the fact that the dog resembles 
the former so much, it has been said 
that this is an objection in the West 
and Northwest, where wolves abound, 



The Farmer' } s Dog 



29 




THE WHITE COLLIE JEFFERSON WHITE 
LASSIE, 



as the shepherd may easily, be mis- 
taken for a wolf when he is seen from 
a distance. TJie chief qualities of the 
shepherd dog are his intelligence, 
alertness, loyalty, gentleness, courage, 
obedience, willingness and devotion. 
All of this will show in the animal's 
general appearance. 

The demand for shepherds being 
so great at the present time, the first 



30 The Farmer s Dog 

cost of obtaining good specimens is 
rather prohibitive, but the up-to-date, 
fancier wishing to make this breed 
part of the farm's earning capacity, 
will find the breeding of them, even 
though it is done on a small scale, 
a lucrative investment. 



CHAPTER III. 

Other Useful and Profitable Breeds — 
Bird Dogs and Hounds. 

TT is not every farmer who is in- 
A terested in dogs of the pastoral 
types. Many are situated in places 
where stock raising is but an infinites- 
imal part of the farm's industries, and 
again, many are in localities where 
game of all kinds is plentiful. To 
such as these a dog of one of the 
porting varieties might find a greater 
appeal than any other breed. 

Sporting varieties are always in de- 
mand; there is no rise and fall in 
fashions, consequently the farmer 
taking up pointers, setters, beagles, 
fox, or coon hounds, will always find 
a market for his surplus stock, not 
only among his own class, but also 
from the city sportsman and the field 
trial enthusiast. There is no ques- 
tion but sporting dogs can be raised 
and brought to maturity much more 
successfully on the farm than in any 



32 The Farmer's Dog 

of the large kennels, especially if the 
farmer confines his breeding opera- 
tions to a limited scale of from one to 
four litters a year. Under such re- 
strictions the work will not become 
irksome, neither will an expensive 
kennel equipment be required. 

A farm-raised pointer, setter or 
hound has all the advantage over the 
kennel-bred product. He is raised 
largely according to the nature 
method; he has more freedom from 
the day he opens his eyes, and he 
grows up in an environment that is 
in keeping with his instincts and in- 
clinations ; he learns to self-hunt by 
independent forays with his mother 
while still young; he acquires the 
ways of the woods and fields and he 
learns from actual experience where 
to go to find game. Put down a bird 
dog of a year old that has been raised 
in the country with one of the kennel- 
raised kind and note the difference 
in the wisdom displayed. The kennel- 
bred youngster without any experi- 
ence is in a new environment ; every- 



The Farmer's Dog 33 

thing is strange and he seems cowed, 
while the farm puppy is all confidence 
and decision, born of his constant as- 
sociation with the things of the out- 
doors. From personal observations 
I am convinced that the farm-raised 
puppy is farther advanced at twelve 
months of age than the average two- 
year-old kennel-raised product. That 
is why the average sportsman or field 
trial patron prefers to find his young 
stock on the farm. He knows that 
such a puppy has been started prop- 
erly and that his physical and mental 
development have taken place under 
natural conditions. 

What applies to bird dogs is equally 
applicable to beagles and other va- 
rieties of hounds. The average 
beagle, raised on the farm, is a rabbit 
dog at one year old and frequently 
younger, hence, when the city sports- 
man purchases such a puppy he is 
equipped to go afield with his dog at 
once and obtain considerable satis- 
faction in shooting over him. Not 
many years ago I spent one of the 



34 



The Farmer s Dog 



The Farmer's Dog 35 

most enjoyable days in the field — rab- 
biting with a pair of farm-raised 
beagles — that I ever had at this kind 
of sport, and yet these beagles were 
but eleven months old at the time. 
They had a world of experience, how- 
ever, and knew more about rabbits 
than many a three-year-old. 

All trainers of either bird dogs or 
beagles will freely confess that they 
would rather take farm-raised pupils 
to train than any of the kennel-bred 
ones, for they realize that half the 
work is already accomplished and all 
that is necessary is to teach such ani- 
mals how to hunt to the gun, and the 
finer accomplishments of the finished 
performer. 

Such being the case, no one living 
on a farm who has an inclination 
for dogs need fear to take up these 
breeds as a profitable investment and 
as a means of recreative pastime, for 
there are many months during the 
fall and winter season when work is 
light and the call of the wild is in- 
sistent. 



36 The Farmer s Dog 




POINTER. 



The question of what breed to se- 
lect is very much a matter of indi- 
vidual preference and what the buy- 
er's predilections are in the way of 
sport. If he is fond of upland shoot- 
ing, any of the setter breeds, or a 
pointer, or possibly a wire-haired 
pointing griffon will appeal to him. 
If he is a rabbit hunter then nothing 
would be more satisfactory than the 
beagle; if it is night hunting, then 
the 'coon or 'possum hounds are de- 
sirable; or if it is fox hunting, then 
naturally nothing but fox hounds 
would interest him. 

Perhaps the bird dog breeds are 



The Farmer's Dog 37 

the most lucrative. That is, puppies 
from these breeds demand higher 
prices, generally speaking, than 
beagles or 'coon hounds. In selecting 
a pointer or a setter strain, however, 
it is well to study the various families 
in order to have those that are in de- 
mand. As far as pointers are con- 
cerned, no beginner can go far wrong 
in selecting any of the strains now 
before the public. 




SETTER. 



In English setters, there is more or 
less confusion caused by the so-called 
100% Llewellins which, I might 
say in passing, has done the set- 



38 The Farmer's Dog 

ter much more harm than good. 
I do not mean that the Llewellin 
strain is not a very excellent one. The 
damage was done, however, by breed- 
ers who insisted upon breeding the 
100% dogs simply because they 
were hundred per cent, regardless of 
individual quality. Whether they are 
Llewellins or so-called grades (which 
is also a misnomer), they are all Eng- 
lish setters and if the pedigree is right, 
as it must be if the stock comes from 
pedigreed dogs, then it is mainly a 
question of selecting individuals from 
strains that are known to be good, 
and it is immaterial if they are 
Llewellins, so-called, or English set- 
ters. Although the fad that has swept 
the country creating a demand for 
Llewellins has caused prices for the 
100% dogs to soar out of all propor- 
tions, it will be found that it is the 
so-called grade English setters which 
have really maintained the laurels for 
the breed in field trials as against 
pointers, hence the breeder might as 
well disregard the names of strains 



The Farmer s Dog 39 

and go in for real dogs. By doing 
this he will breed successfully. If he 
can find a good individual brood 
matron that is 100%, all well and 
good and if he is able to find a sire 
that is also of the same percentage 
then he is well started, but it is far 
better to select good individuals of 
so-called grade stock than to decide 
upon second rate 100% dogs. 

The novice will probably ask the 
question what is a Llewellin? The 
accepted dictum is that they must 
descend in unbroken lines from the 
Laverack strain of more than fifty 
years ago and the Duke-Rhoebe 
cross. Any dog that has any other 
outcross is not a Llewellin, though 
as a matter of fact, he may be much 
better bred, for it is a well proven 
fact that the Duke-Rhoebe cross was 
a mixed lot at its source. Possibly 
it was this very cross of strong, vig- 
orous blood, blended with the inbred 
Laveracks that was no doubt the po- 
tent factor in these early so-called 
Llewellins and the farther we are get- 



40 The Farmer s Dog 

ting away from the source the more 
attenuated this blood becomes, conse- 
quently the logical thing is to breed 
to the best to be found among the 
setter strains regardless as to whether 
they are called Llewellins, grades or 
English setters, for when all is said, 
they are every one of them English 
setters, and the wise breeder will bear 
this in mind when he makes his selec- 
tions. The reader wishing to go 
further into the question of pointer 
and setter strains, is cited to my two 
previous works, "The Modern Point- 
er" and "The Modern Setter." 

The wire-haired pointing griffon is 
in reality a rough-coated pointer, 
which had his origin in Belgium, 
France and Germany. He is a slow, 
methodical dog, with an excellent 
nose. He is easily broken as an up- 
land hunter and as a retriever from 
land and water. He lacks the speed, 
range and style of our present-day 
pointers and setters, but there seems 
to be a popular demand for the breed 



The Farmer s Dog 41 

and good specimens are commanding 
high prices. 

Beagles do not bring the prices of 
the bird dog varieties, but they are 
less costly to raise and do not require 
the room, hence when one takes 
everything into consideration — the 
sport they give one and the returns 
from surplus stock — they prove very 
satisfactory. At the present time 
beagling and beagle trials are becom- 
ing more and more popular, hence 
the trend toward higher prices for 
good stock seems to be the prevailing 
note. 

Foxhounds of the well - known 
strains — American strains — such as 
the Walker, July, Trigg, Williams, 
and others, always hold their own, 
for foxhunting will remain a southern 
sport until the end of doom. As for 
'coon hounds, these are generally 
more of a nondescript variety; as a 
rule, descendants of the various fox- 
hound strains, sometimes mixed with 
various blood. Puppies do not com- 
mand the large prices of the registered 



42 The Farmer s Dog 

breeds, but a well broken 'coon hound 
is always in demand and the same 
may be said of 'possum dogs. Sev- 
eral years ago, while hunting in the 
south, I saw a northern enthusiast 
pay $200 for an unpedigreed, plain- 
looking, tan-colored hound, simply 
because he was a real 'coon dog. 



PART TWO 



Breeding, Care, and 
Marketing 



CHAPTER I. 

Breeding Dogs for Pleasure and Profit 
— General Hints — Importance of 
Pedigree and the Knowledge of What 
it Represents. 

^PHERE is pleasure and profit in 
■*• breeding dogs. The returns are 
quick, the bringing up of puppies in- 
teresting, and on the whole, one dis- 
covers a fascination in the various 
phenomena that keeps one fascinated. 
To the aspiring breeder, however, 
I would say, gain as much knowledge 
of the subject as possible before at- 
tempting to rear puppies. It is not 
4n undertaking for the person who 
imagines that all that is necessary 
for success is a pair of dogs. You 
must have a clear knowledge of what 
you set out to do, weigh the various 
influences at work and their probable 
effect on advancing or retarding the 
object you have in mind, and act ac- 
cordingly. 



46 The Farmer s Dog 

In a work of this limited nature 
I cannot go into full details of the 
various phases of the breeding ques- 
tion, but I may point out a few guide 
posts to success, as it were, that may 
serve as axioms, which should be kept 
in mind. Naturally the novice, after 
he once becomes more deeply inter- 
ested, will discover new experiences 
and come to conclusions of his own, 
and while he is learning this, he may 
study the various works on the sub- 
ject to good advantage also. 

The old saying "like begets like" is 
good as far as it goes, but one must 
not take this in a too literal sense, for 
the ancestry behind the two individ- 
uals mated, play a very important 
part, hence the saying must only be 
considered in conjunction with other 
laws and influences at work. 

Breeding back, reversion, or ata- 
vism, as it is scientifically called, is 
always a factor in breeding opera- 
tions and frequently sets at naught 
the like begets like theory. Atavism 
means simply reverting back to a re- 



The Farmer s Dog 47 

mote ancester, as for instance, the off- 
spring may resemble a great grand- 
parent or some ancester still farther 
back than that. Hence, if somewhere 
in the ancestry there has been some 
violent outcross, it is likely to appear 
again, even after the lapse of many 
generations. This has been shown in 
various breeds at different times, as 
for instance when the bulldog was 
crossed with the greyhound a num- 
ber of years ago in England, in order 
to give the latter more strength and 
courage, traces of this cross were seen 
in greyhound ancestry seven genera- 
tions after this one cross had been 
made. It is the same with other 
breeds. In setters we very often find 
a specimen that is an exact counter- 
part of some of the very earliest dogs 
in Llewellin (so-called) pedigrees. 

In Airedales we find frequent re- 
versions to the hound ears and light 
eyes of the otter hound. In Bostons 
we find numerous throw-backs and so 
on adfinitum. All this suggests that 
we must have a thorough knowledge 



48 The Farmer s Dog 

of the ancestry of our stock in order 
to breed intelligently. 

We can do this only by breeding 
from parents whose pedigree is not 
only available, but of which we have 
made such a study that we are fa- 
miliar with each name in the breed- 
ing and what it stands for. If we are 
breeding Airedales for utility pur- 
poses, we want to know first of all, 
that the sire and dam are of the right 
sort individually. Then we go back 
into the next generation and learn 
all we can about the grand-parents 
If there is a weakling here we should 
know it, in order to figure the possible 
chance of his ancestors traits crop- 
ping out. Assuming that the genera- 
tion of grand-parents seems to be all 
that we are looking for, then it is Well 
to take* up the great grand-parents, 
and so on. Naturally the farther we 
get back in the pedigree the less in- 
fluence each individual ancester will 
have on the offspring, but a certain 
percentage, nevertheless, will figure 
in the general summing up. 



The Farmer s Dog 49 

In this respect the law of ancestral 
heredity as expounded by Sir Francis 
Galton, and amplified by Pierson, is 
a very good guide. Naturally, the 
theory is far from infallible, but on 
the whole it is a safe theory. Simply 
stated, this law endeavors to prove 
mathematically the fraction of direct 
inheritance ; that is, the similarity of 
the offspring to its various ancestors. 
From his observations Galton comes 
to the conclusion that the visible 
dominant characters of the progeny 
correspond on the average with those 
of the various ancestors about as fol- 
lows: 

From the immediate parents, 50%. 

From the grand-parents, 25%. 

From the great grand-parents, 
12.5%. 

From the great great grand-par- 
ents, 6.25%. 

Earlier ancestors in proportion until 
the figures are carried to infinity; 
thus accounting for the total herit- 
age. It should be borne in mind, 
however, the characters referred to 



50 



The Farmer s Dog 



are the visible ones and do not apply 
to temperamental characteristics 
which, in dogs, are factors whose im- 
portance is unquestionable. 




WINTERVIEW PATRICIA VON FLUGELRAD, 



That is another reason why it is 
necessary to know all about the dogs 
that go to make up the pedigree of 



The Farmer's Dog 51 

the prospective parents. In some 
strains one is prone to find certain 
physical weaknesses that are trans- 
mitted from generation to generation. 
Dogs of a cowardly or highly nervous 
temperament are not likely to pro- 
duce good utility offspring. Others 
might be affected with a constitu- 
tional disease which one does not care 
to see transmitted in the offspring, 
and if the breeding is in the least 
close, these faults are likely to be in- 
tensified in the same proportion as 
the good qualities are intensified. It 
is easy to understand, therefore, why 
it is all essential to know the line of 
blood one is using. 

This brings us to another phase, 
and an important one, .in the repro- 
duction of animals under domestica- 
tion. This is line-breeding, in-breed- 
ing and cross-breeding. By line- 
breeding is loosely meant the system 
of breeding within the limits of the 
family, as cousins, uncles, aunts, etc., 
but not too closely. In-breeding is 
mating son to his dam, or daughter to 



52 The Farmer's Dog 

her sire, while in-and-in-breeding is 
the mating of brother and sister. On 
this subject I am going to quote from 
my previous work, "Dogcraft" : 

"The evil effects of in-breeding 
have been discussed so much that 
many breeders, and the public at 
large, have begun to look upon it with 
greater aversion than is really neces- 
sary. Occasional in-breeding is ab- 
solutely essential under some circum- 
stances, but it requires nice discrim- 
ination to determine just to what ex- 
tent this may be practiced. 

"The good effects of inbreeding 
are uniformity of type, smoothness 
of finish and retention of character. 
These qualities can be attained in this 
way much more readily than other- 
wise. The evils require more time to 
detect, but when in-breeding is long 
continued, it usually results in weak- 
ened constitution, susceptibility to 
disease, impotency, loss of stamina 
and size. Breeders of wide experi- 
ence maintain that in-breeding may 
be practiced without fear of evil re- 



The Farmer s Dog 53 

suits for two or three generations, 
provided the sire is bred to daughter, 
or mother to son, for in these cases 
the sire or dam only crosses with one- 
half of his or her own blood, and the 
advantages so gained outweigh the 
slight loss in constitution or vigor. 

"The crossing of brother and sister 
is known as in-and-in-breeding, and, 
as the blood is identically the same 
on both sides, it follows that evil re- 
sults will appear much more quickly. 
When two closely related individuals 
are brought up and exposed to differ- 
ent conditions of life, the results of 
such a mating will generally prove 
much more satisfactory, for it is a 
well known fact that the environment 
under which animals have been 
brought up, such as differences in soil, 
climate and manner of feeding, ef- 
fects almost as great a change in the 
constitution of the progeny as would 
result in the infusion of new blood. 

"In-breeding should be discontin- 
ued as soon as the first signs of evil 
effects appear. Then it is wise to re- 



54 The Farmer's Dog 

sort to an outcross. Naturally, many 
breeders who, after a number of 
years have succeeded in building up a 
strain, hesitate to resort to an out- 
cross for fear of introducing unde- 
sirable qualities, but when loss of 
mentality and sterility once make 
their appearance, then it is necessary 
to do so. Many cases are known 
where strains of cattle, sheep, hogs 
and other animals, which, through in- 
breeding, had suffered in size and 
also had become perfectly sterile, 
when bred to their own kind, imme- 
diately regained these qualities by the 
introduction of outside blood. There- 
fore, the results of an out-cross be- 
came apparent much more quickly, 
as before stated, than the evils of in- 
breeding. Among most breeds of 
dogs of the present day there is no 
necessity for close in-breeding, unless 
it is desirable to intensify some par- 
ticular qualities, but when these are 
obtained it is best to resort to out- 
side blood — a violent out-cross is not 
at all necessary — and a return to size 



The Farmer's Dog 55 

and stamina will soon be noted as the 
result." 

The old theory of telegony, or the 
influence of a previous sire, has about 
been discarded, although even at the 
present day there are some breeders 
and even a few scientists who still 
hold that once dog has made a mis- 
alliance and had a litter of puppies 
by a mongrel or a dog from some 
other breed, all future litters will be 
affected by this occurrance in that' 
certain puppies of the subsequent lit- 
ters coming from sires of her own 
kind will resemble the mongrel cross. 
No clear proof has ever been brought 
forward to substantiate this theory, 
hence I have always taken it for what 
it is worth. However, it is best to be 
careful that such misalliances do not 
occur, for even though future litters 
may not be affected it is certain that 
immediate results are thus ruined. 

Prenatal impressions is another 
subject that is not given much cre- 
dence at the present time, although 
up until late years the belief was 



56 The Farmer s Dog 



mBm : 


# 




i 



THE ROUGH-COATED COLLIE CH. 
METCHLEY WONDER, 

The Old Type Bench Show and Working Dog. 

widespread that impressions made 
upon the mind of the mother during 
the period of gestation will influence 
the ultra uterine development of the 
young and cause birth marks, abnor- 
malities or color changes. The theory 
no doubt arose in the Biblical story 
of Jacob and the sheep flocks of his 
father-in-law, Laban. Jacob was to 
receive sheep of certain colors as his 
own. In order to breed these colors 
Jacob set up colored rods in the field 
where the sheep grazed and thus the 



The Farmer s Dog 57 

ewes were to be influenced; and ac- 
cording to the story, Jacob was a suc- 
cess in breeding for color. Since that 
day, however, we have heard of no 
such successes in color breeding when 
but such simple methods were em- 
ployed. I know of a setter breeder 
who some years ago wished to breed 
his bitch to an orange and white dog, 
but wanted to get the white, black 
and tan colors in the offspring, for at 
this period the orange and whites had 
not come into the popularity that they 
now enjoy. To achieve this result 
he confined the bitch in a kennel ad- 
joining that of a dog which was beau- 
tifully marked white, black, tan and 
ticked. When the time came for 
breeding, however, the orange and 
white dog was used. When the pup- 
pies were whelped, all but one were 
orange and white; from this it will 
be observed that for once, Jacob's 
theory did not work out. 

No doubt the birth marks or de- 
formities are due generally to an in- 
flammation of the uterus, because of 



58 The Farmer s Dog 

arrested foetal development caused 
by pressure from the ligaments from 
the uterus or umbilical cord. Nat- 
urally the habitual mental condition 
of the mother while carrying her 
young has a certain amount of influ- 
ence upon the fluids nourishing the 
embryo, though this can scarcely be 
regarded as a direct mental impres- 
sion upon the foetus during the 
process of development. 

The breeder who wishes to go still 
further into the subject of dog breed- 
ing will find a more elaborate treat- 
ment of the subject in my previous 
work, "Dogcraft." 



CHAPTER II. 

The Stud Dog and the Brood Matron- 
Oestrum — When it Occurs — Time for 
Breeding — Care of Matron During 
Period of Gestation — Parturition. 

/ T % HE average small breeder will do 
-*- better not to attempt to own his 
own stud dog, unless he should se- 
cure one that he can also offer to the 
public, for if he is breeding but one 
or two, or even half a dozen bitches a 
year, he will find it more satisfactory, 
and even more profitable to pay a 
stud fee and select that kind of dog 
which will suit each of his bitches. 
One dog may nick very well with one 
bitch, because of blood lines, con- 
formation, temperament and all other 
essentials, but will not answer so well 
with the others, hence it will readily 
be seen how much greater the advan- 
tage is. Furthermore, when one 
breeds to a dog of known reputation 
the puppies are just that much more 
valuable. 



60 The Fanner s Dog 

In making your selection of a stud 
dog, study the bitch that you wish to 
breed to him ; look over the two pedi- 
grees carefully, compare the blood 
lines and if these look logical — that is, 
if the combination in theory seems 
plausible, then find out all you can 
about the dog and whether he has 
any glaring faults, or is prone to 
transmit any constitutional disease 
or weaknesses. If all these qualifica- 
tions are satisfactory, ascertain if he 
is a working dog, for I am assuming 
that you are breeding dogs of prac- 
tical value. If you are breeding cat- 
tle or stock dogs, see that the pros- 
pective sire comes from a service 
strain, and if he is himself a broken 
dog, all the better. If you are breed- 
ing Airedales for all-round gameness, 
have nothing to do with a stud dog 
that, is a weakling mentally and a 
coward physically. Better sacrifice 
some of the show points for courage, 
intelligence and sound conformation. 
Never breed to a dog with weak back, 
loins, quarters or stifles. Type is of 



The Farmer's Dog * 61 

course essential, but type drawn to 
extremes, that is, type and quality 
over physical and temperamental ex- 
cellence are the two things that have 
done harm to many of our best 
breeds'. 




THE BLUE MERLE COLLIE, HANDSOME 
BLUE BOY. 



In short, when selecting a sire to 
breed to your matron, keep in view 
the idea that you must find a dog that 
is especially strong where your bitch 



62 The Farmer s Dog 

is weak, but also it must not be for- 
gotten that this dog must come from 
a family whose members are habit- 
ually strong in these parts. For in- 
stance, you might select a dog that is 
especially good in head, but whose 
sire and dam were bad and this speci- 
men is one of the exceptions due to 
atavism. He may resemble one of 
his remote ancestors, but not be able 
to sire his own kind. Keep the gen- 
eral average of the pedigree in mind. 
In selecting bitches for your pros- 
pective doggy venture, decide first 
upon the breed, and after doing this 
you will do better by adhering to that 
breed. You will be enabled to study 
one variety and come to understand 
it more thoroughly than if you were 
to dabble in various breeds. Whether 
your selettion be one of the pastoral 
varieties or one for sport, try to learn 
all you can about it and study your 
own individuals. It is not necessary 
to select show types, as I have already 
pointed out, but rather buy good, 
sound puppies from stock known to 



The Farmer s Dog 63 

possess the characteristics which you 
wish to perpetuate. If you wish to 
begin breeding at once, it is well to 
buy matured bitches, but it is far bet- 
ter to begin by securing a few bitch 
puppies and allow them to grow up on 
the place. Thus you are enabled to 
train them to do whatever work they 
are fitted for and they are more likely 
to give satisfaction. Select carefully, 
not from show, but from good pedi- 
greed stock. Many a so - called 
"waster" proved to be the best kind 
of a brood matron, producing off- 
spring that afterward proved to be 
marvels of their particular breed. 
Allow the puppies to grow up in free- 
dom, for the bitch puppy that is 
brought up in this rough and ready 
fashion, will need very little atten- 
tion when the various crises of her 
life occur. 

There is no particular time at 
which the period of oestrum or sea- 
son, in the female of the canine spe- 
cies may be looked for. Much de- 
pends upon the breed; the toys and 



64 The Farmer s Dog 

small varieties usually coming in sea- 
son at any time after they are six 
months old. Pointers, setters, Aire- 
dales, collies and shepherds may 
come in the first time between eight 
months and a year, or even go longer, 
but I have found the general average 
period to be between ten and twelve 
months. After the bitch has been in 
season once, she should, normally, 
come in again every six months, 
though this varies in certain individ- 
uals, some coming as frequently as 
every four months, while others may 
go eight, and even twelve months, 
though as I have said in normal con- 
dition, the time between periods is 
six months. 

Personally, I have seen very excel- 
lent puppies from bitches that were 
bred their first season, though this 
is not to be recommended unless the 
bitch is particularly well developed 
and the first period does not come 
much before she is a year old. The 
generality of breeders, however, wait 
until the second season. The owner 



The Farmer s Dog 65 

must be governed by circumstances 
both in this matter and also the fre- 
quency of breeding in later years. A 
bitch can have two litters a year if she 
is normal, which also means that she 
must be vigorous. Two litters within 
twelve months, however, is a consid- 
erable drain on the system, and may 
result in loss of vitality and eventu- 
ally the loss of the bitch, so here again 
the owner must be governed by cir- 
cumstances. The hardiest breed I 
have encountered in my experience 
is the Airedale. The females of this 
variety usually have large litters and 
seem to raise them successfully every 
time. I know of one Airedale bitch 
which had four litters within two 
years and each litter averaged ten 
puppies; in other words, she raised 
to weaning time, forty puppies in a 
period of twenty-four months and 
did not seem to be any the worse for 
it. The owner should always bear in 
mind that he is the judge in such mat- 
ters ; if the bitch shows signs of de- 
bility or loss of vitality after raising 



66 The Farmer's Dog 

a litter she should be given a rest, if 
on the other hand, there is no impair- 
ment of her strength or general con- 
dition, she may safely be bred each 
season for three or four consecutive 
periods, at all events. 

Care must be taken upon the ap- 
proach of the period of oestrum that 
the bitch is promptly isolated. That 
is, she must be placed in a building 
out of which it is impossible for her 
to dig, or into which no dog will be 
able to enter, either underground, 
through windows or doors. The bet- 
ter plan is to keep the bitch in an up- 
stairs room or loft that is entirely in- 
accessible, for it is surprising how 
quickly the dogs of a neighborhood 
will discover a bitch in season and 
what cunning tricks they will resort 
to in order to gain access to her. 

The owner, even though he be a 
novice will soon recognize a change 
in the bitch when the period of oes- 
trum approaches even though there 
may be no physical evidence. Her 
temperament will be changed. Timid 



The Farmer's Dog 67 

bitches usually become bold and not 
infrequently, a savage or unruly one 
will be very docile. An enlargement 
of the external genitals will appear 
about this time and accompanying 
this will be the discharge of a whitish 
fluid, which increases in quantity and 
becomes tinged with red until it is 
eventually a discharge of pure blood. 
The entire period of oestrum extends 
over a period of about twenty-one 
days, but it is generally during the 
second week that the swelling sub- 
sides, the discharge lighter in color 
and finally disappears about the four- 
teenth or fifteenth day. This is the 
best period to have the service per- 
formed ; that is, between the fifteenth 
and twentieth day. If she is to be 
shipped any distance, the owner will 
do well to have his arrangements 
made with the owner of the stud dog, 
some time in advance and as soon as 
she shows signs of being in season, 
she should be shipped, for the strange- 
ness of surroundings, the shipping, 
and the life in the crate have a certain 



68 The Farmer s Dog 

effect upon her and she should have 
several days of quiet before she is 
bred. If the time is right, one service 
is sufficient, though many breeders 
prefer two, given one day apart. 
Personally I have always found the 
results just as satisfactory from one 
service, provided everything was nor- 
mal. 

If the owner of the stud dog returns 
the bitch immediately after service, 
it is well to keep her confined another 




THE SMOOTH-COATED COLLIE FERDINAND 
DE MONTFORT. 



The Farmer s Dog 69 

week to make assurance doubly sure. 
After she is once entirely out of sea- 
son she may resume her ordinary 
habits at least during the first five 
weeks. 

It sometimes happens that a dog 
may not mate with a bitch even if 
both are so inclined. In such a con- 
tingency, unless the owner of the stud 
dog is an experienced man, he should 
call in a qualified veterinarian, for 
such cases- generally call for the use 
of the dilator. These contingencies, 
though not common, occur occasion- 
ally. Sometimes, especially with 
maiden bitches, it is necessary to re- 
sort to force in making the bitch ac- 
cept the dog; these unions, as a rule, 
prove just as fruitful as a voluntary 
service. 

The period of gestation averages 
sixty-three days, varying some times 
a day or two both ways. Nine weeks, 
however, is a safe way to figure the 
time. It is well, during the first weeks 
of pregnancy, to give the prospective 
mother a treatment for worms, not 



70 The Farmer's Dog 

that these can be directly inherited 
by the puppies, but they are a drain 
on the vitality of the bitch which she 
may well employ otherwise. There 
are a number of good and safe vermi- 
fuges on the market that will answer 
the purpose. Personally I prefer 
Le Roy's, but this is, perhaps, because 
I am familiar with the ingredients. 

The bitch should have regular ex- 
ercise up to the fifth week and in her 
natural sphere. If she has been ac- 
customed to hunting or driving cat- 
tle, allow her to follow her ordinary 
pursuits. At five weeks, if she is in 
whelp a slight change will be notice- 
able in her appearance. At six, one 
is enabled to tell almost to a certainty 
in most bitches, though not all. Af- 
ter the fifth week, if she shows signs 
of being in whelp, she should only be 
allowed moderate exercise, and if she 
is an old matron which might at any 
time be given to aborting, she must 
be kept somewhere, in a kennel or 
yard, where she cannot jump either 



The Farmer's Dog 71 

over the fence or on high benches or 
stands. 

The whelping place should be in 
some dark corner of the barn away 
from other dogs or sights and sounds. 
Generally, if a bitch is. allowed her 
freedom she will select her own 
whelping place, and she usually has 
this picked out long before her time, 
and no matter how attractive arti- 
ficial surroundings may be made for 
her, she will go to the place of her 
own selection, and this will generally 
be under the barn or outbuilding, or 
under a manger. In summer I be- 
lieve in giving the bitch as much lee- 
way as possible, for I am a great be- 
liever in the nature method. I have 
had dogs in the country on many dif- 
ferent occasions, where puppies that 
afterward proved to be winners were 
raised under old stalls or buildings, 
and which proved to be hardier than 
any that I ever saw or raised under 
strictly artificial surroundings. In 
winter, of course, it would be impos- 
sible to allow the mother too much 



72 The Farmer s Dog 

latitude, for newly-born puppies can- 
not thrive in a temperature much un- 
der sixty-five degrees. As a matter of 
fact, the whelping room should be 
about seventy degrees Fahrenheit in 
winter, hence if no regular artificially 
heated kennel is provided, the pros- 
pective mother should be brought 
into a room in the house or basement 
that can be heated. If a whelping 
place is provided, this should be only 
a platform raised an inch or two from 
the ground over which a carpet may 
be tacked. This covering should be 
removed after the puppies are born, 
and straw may then be substituted. 
During the hours of parturition, the 
mother will do much better if she is 
left alone. Occasionally there may 
be complications, but in the breeds in 
which we are at present interested, 
this is very rare. To look in occa- 
sionally, pat her on the head, or offer 
her a drink of water is only humane, 
and will be appreciated, but officious 
interference only invites disaster. If 
the weather is very cold the puppies 



The Farmer s Dog 73 

may be taken away as they are born 
and placed in a basket by the stove, 
wrapping them first in a warm 
blanket, but as far as first aid to the 
puppies is concerned, that will be 
taken care of entirely by the mother. 
The best advice is, leave her alone 
and let nature take its course, unless 
complications actually set in. The 
mother instinct is so strong in the fe- 
male of the canine species, that she 
knows better what to do than all the 
artificial aid the human mind can de- 
vise. 



CHAPTER III. 

Care After IV helping — Care of the Pup* 
pies During First Few Weeks — Dock* 
ing Tails — Vermifuges — Weaning. 

TNLESS the mother has gone away 
^ and found her own whelping 
place under some barn or manger, 
you have, no doubt, kept watch over 
her and are therefore aware when the 
hours of labor are over. It is well 
to sponge her off with luke warm wa- 
ter, but dry her thoroughly. Remove 
the carpet which was in the whelping 
box. You may either tack another 
on the floor of this or leave it 
bare with the exception of the clean 
straw which, it is assumed, you have 
provided. Offer the mother some 
food and water after her strenuous 
period. 

The food may consist of milk, broth 
or gruel. As a matter of fact, for the 
first three days sloppy foods of this 
nature are preferable, although this 



The Farmer s Dog 75 

does not have to be continued. After 
the third day allow her her meat as 
usual, and see that she is fed three 
times daily. She has other mouths 
dependent upon her now and her vi- 
tality must be sustained. If the sea- 
son of the year is summer, it is likely 
that she will be infested with a cer- 
tain amount of fleas, no matter how 
one tries to keep the surroundings 
clean. After the first few days the 
mother may be dipped in any of the 
solutions made for the purpose, but 
the puppies, which are just as likely 
to be infested cannot be treated in 
this manner. After they are a week 
old, however, it is safe to dust them 
with Persian insect powder. See that 
none of this enters their mouths or 
eyes, however, and after it is well 
brushed into the coat, be as careful 
to brush it out again. The puppies 
may be placed over a paper while this 
process is being gone through. After- 
ward, paper, powder, fleas and all 
may be burned. In warm weather 
the puppies should be treated thus at 



76 The Farmer's Dog 

least once a week, especially if they 
are living in a place which is likely 
to be infested with a greater abun- 
dance of fleas than ordinary. During 
all those early weeks, the mother will 
look after the puppies herself, keeping 
the sleeping box clean and performing 
the ablutions upon the puppies, so 
nothing need be done to them, except, 
if they happen to be Airedales, then 
then they must have their tails 
docked before their eyes open, which 
is about the ninth day. The process 
is a simple one ; take 'the puppy in 
one hand, push back the skin on the 
tail toward the body, and with a 
sharp shears, held in the other hand, 
snip off about one-third or two-fifths, 
according to the dictates of fashion. 
At the present time it is the mode 
for Airedales to have rather longer 
caudal appendages than was formerly 
the case, some even preferring to dock 
them to about one-half inch. There 
is no need to apply anything to the 
.wound; the bleeding is very slight, 
and in a few days, through the minis- 



The Farmer s Dog 77 

trations of the mother, the tails will 
heal rapidly, for by drawing the skin 
back when the operation is per- 
formed, this soon grows together and 
not the slightest trace of a scar is no- 
ticeable. 

' Internal parasites — that is worms 
— will be found in all puppies even as 
young as two or three weeks, for no 
matter how thoroughly the mother 
has been treated, nor how calm she 
may be, the ova are about somewhere 
and the puppies are sure to absorb 
them. 

I have safely given Le Roy's in 
liquid form at two and three weeks 
of age, by floating a little of the medi- 
cine on a half teaspoon of the dam's 
milk and the results have always been 
eminently satisfactory. Another 
good vermifuge for puppies is the 
fluid extract of pink and senna in 
doses of five to thirty drops, accord- 
ing to the age and the breed. In giving 
any vermifuge, however, it is always 
safe to take the minimum dose as a 



78 The Farmer's Dog 

guide and rather give too little than 
too much. 

About the third week it is safe to 
teach the puppies to lap milk. Al- 
though the dam's milk is richer than 
that of the cow, most breeders find it 
more satisfactory to begin by diluting 
cow's milk one-half with luke-warm 
dater. Place this in a shallow pan, 
bring the puppies up to this and dip 
their noses into it. They will soon 
learn to lap it of their own accord 
and then when the time comes for 
weaning, which ordinarily should 
take place about the seventh or eighth 
week, there will be slight trouble. As 
long as the bitch is well and strong 
there is no need to wean the puppies 
too young unless the mother shows 
a disposition to desert them. In the 
early days milk is the staple diet, 
but they may soon be given this 
poured over stale, broken up bread 
or any of the puppy meals that are on 
the market. A little raw or cooked 
meat chopped up finely, may also be 
given three or four times a week with 



The Farmer's Dog 79 

very good results. Do not pay any 
attention to the old misconception 
that meat is injurious to puppies ; it 
is not. This is the natural diet of the 
canine and is the most nourishing 
food in the highest form of concen- 
tration that can be given. I have 
given meat, both raw and cooked, to 
puppies at seven and eight weeks old 
and fed others of the same age milk 
and breadstuff's only, and found that 
those which were fed the meat grew 
faster, were more vigorous and 
healthy and had a more prosperous 
appearance in general than the milk- 
fed puppies. The idea of feeding con- 
centrated foods is to avoid overload- 
ing the stomach, and in this connec- 
tion it might be said that from the 
time they are weaned the puppies 
should be fed about once every four 
hours up until late into the night, and 
the first feed in the morning should 
be given at daylight. As the puppies 
grow older they may be fed less fre- 
quently and in larger quantities. 
Care should always be taken that 



80 The Farmer's Dog 

they have access to an abundance of 
fresh water at all times, which should 
be placed in earthenware vessels if 
possible. The food vessels should be 
scalded after each meal to prevent 
the possibility of any left-over sour 
food from contaminating the next 
meal, for this is a frequent source of 
bowel trouble in puppies, and much 
of this can be prevented if ordinary 
care is taken. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Selection of Puppies — Value of Bitches 
to Preserve Strain — How to Market 
— Conditions of Sale — How to Ship. 

n^HE wise breeder will dispose of 
*■ his surplus puppies at an age 
that is as early as is compatible with 
the future welfare of the rapidly- 
growing youngsters. This age is ap- 
proximately between eight and twelve 
weeks. Some breeders dispose of 
their puppies as early as six or seven 
weeks, but this is not advisable, for 
they are not yet able to take care of 
themselves so early in life and more 
are apt to go wrong. At eight weeks, 
however, it is time to begin to think 
of selecting those that are to be kept 
for future use and to find proper 
homes for the others. 

The question of selecting puppies 
is not such a difficult one as one might 
imagine. Most breeders prefer to 
keep a bitch or two out of a promis- 



82 The Farmer's Dog 

ing litter of well-bred puppies, in or- 
der to retain the blood in the kennel. 
The principal thing that one is guided 
by at this early age is correct mark- 
ings and the general disposition of the 
youngster. The keynote of success is 
to select the boldest and wisest ones, 
that are correctly marked, for even at 
the early age of eight weeks it will 
be clearly noticeable that one or more 
in the litter are just a trifle more pre- 
cocious than the others. After the 
selection has been made, then the 
others should be graded according to 
their qualifications and a price put 
on them according to their merits. 
For instance, the first choice dog 
puppy should bring more than the 
second choice and the first choice 
bitch puppy should command a 
higher price than the second or third 
choice, and so on. In breeds where 
markings play an important part, this 
must necessarily be the principal de- 
sideratum. As a matter of fact, this 
applies particularly to Airedales, col- 
lies and shepherd dogs. In pointers, 



The Farmer s Dog 83 

setters and beagjes it is not so im- 
portant. Airedales with the black 
saddle and deep tan markings com- 
mand more money than the light- 
colored ones and a correctly marked 
collie is also more in demand. If 
there are off-marked ones, they may 
be priced accordingly, but in making 
out a descriptive list care should be 
taken that each and every puppy 
should be described just as he is. The 
markings must be given precisely, 
and if the puppy has any faults or 
peculiarities, these must be eluci- 
dated. No breeder starting out to sell 
dogs in the open market will thrive 
long if he resorts to misrepresenta- 
tion. 

The sale should invariably be a 
cash transaction, but the puppy must 
be sold with the guarantee that he is 
exactly as represented and in the best 
of health. Any deviation from this 
rule is disastrous. It should also be 
understood that in the event the pur- 
chaser is not pleased he may return 
the puppy and get his money back. 



84 The Farmer's Dog 

There may be times when it is neces- 
sary to refund the purchase price of 
a puppy when there are no real 
grounds for it, but in the final analy- 
sis, this is more profitable than to 
make a dissatisfied customer. Pleased 
customers will soon be the best ad- 
vertisers, but one dissatisfied patron 
will do more harm than many times 
the price of the puppy. Years ago I 
bred pointers on a rather large scale, 
and by following this rule there was 
seldom any trouble. I recall one in- 
stance where a patron received his 
puppy, but was dissatisfied with his 
markings. I immediately wired him 
to return the puppy at my expense. 
In the meantime, however, I received 
a telegram from an unknown person 
who had seen the puppy in the express 
office. The youngster evidently 
pleased this man for he offered to take 
the puppy out of the express office 
at the price named. The result was, 
the first customer was perfectly satis- 
fied with the transaction and ordered 
another puppy which pleased him, 



The Farmer s Dog 85 

while the first puppy was the means 
of making another customer. It hap- 
pened that this puppy which was re- 
fused by the first man turned out to 
be a frequent bench winner and one 
of the best shooting dogs in that part 
of the state, and thus was the means 
of more good advertising than if the 
demands of the first patron had been 
ignored. 

The question of marketing puppies 
is not a difficult one at this present 
day and date, for there is an unusual 
demand for well-bred dogs of all va- 
rieties. There is always more or less 
local demand for good puppies, but 
as a rule, such as are sold near at 
home seldom bring the prices that one 
is enabled to obtain by offering them 
to dog lovers at large. The only way to 
do this is to advertise in papers and 
magazines that reach such people. 
The media of the first class are the 
kennel publications, either weekly or 
monthly. These appeal to those who 
know dogs and if you have the right 
kind of stock to sell, much of the 



86 The Farmer's Dog 

business will be done with very little 
correspondence. But again I must 
impress upon the beginner, that un- 
der no conditions must he misrepre- 
sent the stock that he is offering for 
sale. The next class of publication 
is the monthly or weekly out-door 
magazine. Nearly all readers of such 
publications are dog lovers and dog 
buyers, and will pay a good price for 
stock that is hight grade, furthermore, 
such publications have a wide appeal, 
going to all parts of the United States 
and even to foreign countries. Thirty 
years ago, when I was breeding point- 
ers I sold a pair of young dogs to 
Japan and the sale was made through 
a small ad. which appeared in a 
weekly paper devoted to dogs and out- 
door sports in general. Manifestly, 
much depends upon the variety of dog 
that one has to sell as to class of ad- 
vertising medium. If one is inter- 
ested in sporting dogs, then he must 
oppeal to that body of sportsmen 
through the papers or magazines they 
read, and these are any of the weekly 



The Farmer's Dog 87 

or monthly out-door publications. If 
he is catering more specifically to the 
farmer, then the various rural publi- 
cations will bring results, but at the 
same time it must not be forgotten 
that those publications which main- 
tain a regular kennel department al- 
ways reach a class of good buyers, 
and no matter how restricted one 
makes his advertising appropriation, 
he should never fail to use at least 
one of these, Ai not at all times, at 
least quite frequently. The prices 
that are paid nowadays for high-class 
dogs justifies maintaining a standing 
appropriation for advertising in as 
many publications as one can con- 
veniently maintain, all dependent, of 
course, upon how many puppies one 
is likely to have for sale each year. 

Puppies should be shipped in light 
wooden or wire crates, either made 
especially for the purpose, or out of 
store boxes, but if one ships many 
puppies it will pay to have small 
boxes or crates made, though, as I 
have said, this is not absolutely es- 



88 The Farmer's Dog 

sential, as long as the receptacle is 
large enough for the puppy to stand 
up and turn around in. In one cor- 
ner, a vessel should be attached to 
the side, and on the top of the crate 
instructions should be written so the 
expressmen enroute may water and 
feed. Usually they do this, but it is 
well to have these instructions labeled 
upon the box in a conspicuous place. 
If the distance is short — say twenty- 
four hours — it is not necessary to 
feed enroute, but if shipments are 
made across the continent, as they 
frequently are, then it is imperative. 
Start the puppy out with a large bone 
in the crate for him to gnaw upon 
and amuse himself, but it is well to 
attach to the crate a small bag of dog 
cakes which the agents along the 
route may feed to the youngster while 
on his long journey. It is surprising 
how well a puppy as young as three 
or four months will stand these long 
journeys. Usually they come through 
none the worse for their experience. 
In all my transactions I never 



The Farmer's Dog 89 

shipped a puppy that did not arrive 
safely at its destination, although I 
have frequently heard of cases of 
grown dogs which were smothered in 
their crates on very short trips, but 
this was invariably traced to the care- 
lessness of express agents along the 
route. 



PART THREE 

Training for Practical 
Purposes 



CHAPTER I. 

Early Training Lessons for All Breeds. 

T^7"E are all agreed that the educa- 
* * tion of a child cannot begin 
with the higher sciences. He must 
go through the various preliminary 
grades before he is ready for high 
school and it is only after the pre- 
scribed course here that he is enabled 
to enter college. Just so with the 
puppy. No intelligent owner will ex- 
pect his three or four months old dog 
to take to the work of driving cattle, 
or guarding the flocks or hunting for 
game until he grows up and has had 
his training in the calling for which 
he is intended. 

The farmer dog-lover will obtain 
the most out of his dogs if he has the 
grown-up ones trained for some 
special purpose, which, naturally de- 
pends upon what breed of dog he is 
interested in.. If it is a collie, a shep- 
herd dog or any of the pastoral va- 



94 The Farmer s Dog 

rieties, he will want to make him 
subservient to his own uses in the 
care of the live stock. If he is a 
pointer or a setter, he naturally 
wishes him to be proficient in the call- 
ing of hunting for birds; if he is a 
hound of some variety, he should be 
schooled along his special lines, or if 
an Airedale, the possibilities are that 
his owner may be able to train him 
for a generally all-round useful dog 
which will fit in anywhere. Any per- 
son who has a love for the dog will 
be able to train his own, provided he 
knows the fundamentals, possesses 
an even temper and is not inclined to 
be impetuous, for it takes time and 
patience to properly train a dog. 
Some men can do so after reading a 
book on training and do it perfectly. 
Others would never be able to perfect 
a dog in any line of endeavor, even 
though he read every book that was 
ever written on dog training. 

The early lessons of a puppy are 
practically the same, no matter what 
the breed, and these lessons may be 



The Farmer's Dog 95 

started as soon as the youngster is 
out of his nest. The first thing he 
must learn is obedience and the pre- 
liminary lesson is teaching him his 
name. 

The confiding nature of all young 
puppies is such that they will gen- 
erally come voluntarily when their 
attention is attracted. It is only 
older dogs, which have learned the 
hard knocks of the world, that will 
slink away from those they mistrust. 
Call the puppy to you and use the 
name frequently while doing so, when 
he comes close enough offer him a 
bit to eat, either a cracker or a small 
piece of meat. Do this frequently at 
odd intervala during the day and in a 
few days he will learn to associate the 
sound of the name with the morsel of 
choice food, hence to come will be a 
pleasure. Never, under any circum- 
stances, use force or harshness with a 
puppy so young. As he grows older, 
be firm, enforce every command, but 
severity need never be practiced. 

After this first lesson has been 



96 The Farmer's Dog 

taught he may next be made to 
"charge" or drop when told to do so. 
Any word of command may be used 
for this, such as "charge!" "drop!" 
"down !" etc. Whatever form is used, 
however, should invariably be ad- 
hered to. The puppy should not be 
commanded to drop on one occasion 
and to charge at another. The idea 
is for him to associate a word*of com- 
mand with what he is intended to do 
when he hears that word. Call the 
puppy to you, and put him down on 
the ground or floor in the position you 
wish him to assume. Hold him in 
this position several minutes and keep 
repeating the word of command dur- 
ing the process. Naturally, as soon 
as you release him he will be up, but 
again reward him with something to 
eat. Repeat several times, but do not 
tire the puppy by making the lessons 
too long. Gradually, as lesson fol- 
lows lesson, you may remove the 
hands from the puppy, but if he at- 
tempts to get up, force him down and 
repeat the command. Hold him a 



The Farmer's Dog 97 

moment, keep repeating the word, re- 
move the hands again, but continue 
to repeat the command and force him 
in position every time he attempts to 
rise. When you want him to rise, 
give the command, "up!" After the 
lesson reward again. The puppy will 
soon learn what you expect of him 
and it will dawn upon him that after 
lying in this position for a time he 
will not only be pleasing his master, 
but will be rewarded also. Do not 
hurry, do not frighten the puppy, do 
not be severe, but be calmly firm in 
every lesson that is given. 

During this period the puppy may 
also be broken to retrieve by the "play 
method" as described in my previous 
book "The Working Dog and His 
Education." That is, of course, if you 
wish to make a retriever of him and it 
may be said in passing that this is a 
very convenient accomplishment for 
a dog to possess. The lessons are en- 
tertaining for a puppy, for there are 
few which will not run after and re- 
trieve a ball when thrown out. The 



98 The Farmer's Dog 

idea that must be impressed upon the 
pupil is that it is all play, but at the 
same time, he must not be allowed 
to run away with the ball, but bring 
it to you, and if his first lesson of com- 
ing when called has been thoroughly 
taught, the others usually dove-tail 
in very well. 

House breaking should also be part 
of the early curriculum of all dogs. 
This may be done by a" little careful 
watching. Catch him in the act and 
banish him from the house. This, 
repeated a few times will teach him 
to understand, for most dogs are 
cleanly in their habits. If they still 
persist after being put out a dozen or 
more times, reprimand them and keep 
them banished from the house for a 
time. As they grow older it is well 
to establish a custom of putting them 
out at regular intervals. They will 
soon learn to regulate their habits ac- 
cording to these periods out of doors. 

If the dog you are training is one 
of the sporting varieties, he should 
be hunted all during this early period 



The Farmer's Dog 99 

according to his inclinations, pro- 
vided, of course, the season of the 
year is right. Allow them to get out 
in the woods and fields, to hunt and 
chase to their heart's content. If 
the puppy is one of the pastoral va- 
riety, let him follow you to the barn 
or the pasture where the sheep, or 
swine, or cattle are. In other words, 
let the puppy become acquainted with 
the things he will encounter in after- 
life, at as early a period as possible. 
We are assuming that the puppy 
obeys promptly by this time and will 
come to your call. It is well now to 
teach him to come to the whistle. 
There are times when the dog may 
get so far away, that he cannot be 
called or directed by the voice. The 
whistle may be used on all occasions ; 
either the ordinary dog whistle or 
some prefer using the mouth, but use 
the same style of blast on every occa- 
sion. Turn the puppy out and allow 
him to go a considerable distance 
from you, then blow your whistle and 
call immediately after. A motion of 



100 The Farmer's Dog 

the arm may also be used in this con- 
nection, thus in teaching him the 
whistle you may also teach him to 
come in or go out by motion of the 
hand or arm. Be careful to use the 
same motions every time, however. 
Practice this every day and the puppy 
will soon learn to understand that 
one long blast means come in and if 
you care to use it, two short ones 
means to continue to go. The motion 
of the arms is to indicate the direc- 
tion. 

Remaining at heel is another ac- 
complishment every dog should know 
and considering how easily this is 
taught, there is no reason why your 
dog should be at everybody's feet or 
all over them, much to some people's 
disgust, for it must be borne in mind 
that there are a number of "cranks" 
in this world who despise dogs on 
general principles, if for no other 
cause. First, however, the puppy 
must be taught to lead. This may 
be done in a day or two. The puppy 
when he feels the restraint of the col- 



The Farmer s Dog 101 

lar about his neck may object and 
pull backward, but coax him to you, 
give him a bite to eat, pet him — and 
then draw him along farther. He will 
soon learn that he has nothing to fear 
from the lead and will soon trot along 
nicely or tug at the lead unless you 
teach him to remain at heel. In order 
to accomplish this begin by taking 
the dog out on lead, when he runs 
ahead of you give the lead a tug, 
bringing him back of you and as you 
do so give the command, "Heel!" 
Repeat this every day for several days 
or a week if necessary, then start out 
without the lead on his neck and keep 
the dog back of you. In place of the 
lead, carry a small and light switch; 
if he attempts to pass you, tap him 
lightly on the nose, commanding him 
to a Heel !" He may dart past you a 
few times, but invariably call him 
back to heel and if he persists in leav- 
ing his place, put the lead back on him 
until he learns that it is absolutely 
necessary to remain back of you until 
you give the order to "Hie on !" The 



102 The Farmer's Dog 

lesson may take more time than some 
of the others, but persistence and a 
quiet, but firm demeanor will soon in- 
culcate the lesson into the pupil's 
mind so that he will not forget, and 
even though you traverse the streets 
of the busiest city, your dog will be- 
have properly at all times. Toy dogs 
and small terriers will, of course, not 
be susceptible to this kind of training, 
but I have seen Airedales so well 
trained in this respect that they 
would put many a supposedly per- 
fectly broken bird dog to shame in 
obeying commands, and obeying them 
cheerfully. 

There are times when dogs need 
punishment, but this does not mean 
the severe abuse that some impetuous, 
high-tempered people are prone to ad- 
minister in moments of anger. The 
whip is all right in the hands of some ; 
in others it is an implement of tor- 
ture, and the man who cannot use it 
with discretion should either not at- 
tempt to train dogs, or he should do 
so without this form of chastisement. 



The Farmer's Dog 103 

It is scarcely necessary to say that be- 
fore the puppy is six months of age 
he should receive no corporeal pun- 
ishment and any offenses that he may 
commit in his early puppy days 
should be corrected with a reprimand, 
which he will soon learn to under- 
stand. It is quite likely, therefore, 
that by the time he is six months of 
age, he may not need the whip and 
if so, very seldom. To chastise a 
puppy or an older dog, for that mat- 
ter, very severely, is taking a long 
chance, for a dog's spirit, especially a 
highly bred one — may easily be 
broken and that being the case, you 
have a sour dispositioned dog, who 
does your bidding because he fears 
punishment and not because he en- 
joys doing so for the love of his mas- 
ter. It may be well to impress upon 
the novice that all commands should 
be given in a low, firm voice and the 
words for each should always be the 
same. Loud talking or yelling, es- 
pecially if a different form of expres- 
sion is used on each occasion, only 



104 The Farmer s Dog 

confuses the dog and nothing is 
gained. If it is necessary to use the 
whip, always be sure that the dog 
knows what he is being punished for. 
It is useless to punish a dog unless 
you catch him in the act for which 
you punish him. By all means re- 
member that one must keep his tem- 
per and a few judicious blows given 
in a cool manner, repeating the while 
the command which you wish the dog 
to learn, will do more good than an 
unmerciful beating by one whose 
temper has gotten beyond his control. 
The teacher is as much in need of 
training as the pupil under such cir- 
cumstances. Assuming that punish- 
ment has been administered in the 
proper manner, do not immediately 
counteract it by petting the puppy 
and "make over him." Let him rea- 
son it out for himself by remaining 
quiet and paying no attention to him. 
The chances are, he will soon come 
crawling up as if asking for sympa- 
thy. Pat him on the head, give him 
a kind word or two and go on with 



The Farmer's Dog 105 

the training. He will no doubt go 
about his work as cheerfully as be- 
fore, but retain a distinct remem- 
brance of the chastisement which he 
will associate with the fact that he 
has been caught in the commission 
of the fault and not lose any of his 
confidence and affection. Do not for- 
get that dogs are like human beings 
and like to be praised for their good 
work. Therefore, when your dog does 
what you ask him to do, always re- 
ward him with a few kind words, and 
during the early stages of his lessons, 
invariably give him a choice tid-bit 
as an additional incentive to do what 
is asked of him. By this, however, 
it is not meant that a dog should be 
praised or spoken to while he is per- 
forming what you command him to 
do, allow him to complete what he 
has set out to do. Too much talking 
will confuse the pupil. Hold all 
praise in abeyance until the trick you 
expect him to perform is perfectly ac- 
complished. 

With these fundamentals, the ama- 



106 The Farmer's Dog 

teur dog-lover may proceed with any 
breed. As a matter of fact, when it 
comes to hunting dogs, such as point- 
ers, setters, beagles, fox hounds, or 
Airedales, he will have the founda- 
tions for a practical education laid 
and all that will be necessary is to 
proceed in the field in a judicious 
way, whatever the lie of work may be 
to which the dog is to be accustomed. 
An abundance of practice in that par- 
ticular sphere is the surest way to per- 
fect the dog; go slowly, do not 
crowd, but be persevering and if some 
knotty questions arise that ordinary 
logic may not solve, the ambitious 
amateur is referred to my book on 
training, "The Working Dog and 
His Education." 



CHAPTER II. 

The Training of the Stock Dog — For 
General Use on the Farm. 

TN the previous chapter I dwelt upon 
A the preliminary training that 
should be taught all breeds whether 
they are to be used for hunting or 
for stock work, for though some may 
differ in this opinion, I believe the 
dog which has been taught to heed 
the ordinary commands that all of 
them must eventually come to obey, 
is more likely and more easily led 
along the paths of higher education 
than a perfectly green one. Numer- 
ous books are devoted to the training 
of the bird dog and rabbit hound, 
but I know of no recent work that 
treats on the subject of dog training 
for farm work. This chapter is there- 
fore intended to give some informa- 
tion, crude though it may be, on how 
to turn such dogs as collies, shep- 
herds and even Airedales, to good use 



108 The Farmer's Dog 

in the aid of the stock raiser. In 
passing, it may be said that there is 
always a great demand for intelligent 
farm dogs of this class and the shrewd 
agriculturalist who takes up the 
breeding of dogs as a by-product to 
his farm, may make the industry a 
most lucrative one by not only sell- 
ing puppies, but also by breaking a 
few stock dogs each year, for these 
command good prices at all times; 
fully as much so as well broken point- 
ers, setters, beagles or sporting Aire- 
dales. 

When the last word is said, the 
well-trained stock dogs must under- 
stand only a few commands, but he 
must obey unhesitatingly, and here 
again it is pointed out how useful the 
preliminary education is. Some dogs 
are more easily trained than others ; 
some will learn quickly, some will 
never learn, but by the time you 
have given a dog his yard lessons 
you will know his disposition, his 
temper and his degree of intelligence, 
therefore it is assumed that when you 



The Farmer s Dog 109 

begin the practical lessons with your 
pupil, you understand him fairly well, 
consequently know how to proceed, 
and in this connection it might be ob- 
served that better results will be ob- 
tained if every pupil is handled as 
an individual. Measures that might 
be successful for one, might be ruina- 
tion to another, but knowing the ani- 
mal well, half the battle is fought. 

The time to introduce him to prac- 
tical work among stock varies much 
according to the individual. Gen- 
erally from seven to twelve months, 
but it is assumed that before the 
puppy is introduced to the actual 
work among stock he has been taught 
to come in at command. If there are 
any slight traces of a disposition to 
become heedless he must be given a 
few force lessons; that is, attach 
a long lead of about twenty yards to 
his collar and let him go as he pleases, 
then call him in ; if he refuses, draw 
him up and call or whistle him in ; a 
few of these experiences will tend to 
make him remember the commands 



110 The Farmer s Dog 

of his earlier days and that when he 
is called to come in, it means all of 
that. 

If it is among sheep that you are 
working him he should be taught to 
drive them to one particular point 
for a week. Giving the command 
"Hie on !" and the motion of the arm 
signifying the direction. Young dogs 
are apt to be impetuous and may be 
inclined to rush the sheep. Should 
this occur, restrain them, even if it is 
necessary to apply the check cord. 
Other dogs may not drive at all, but 
remain by your side. Nevertheless, 
such a dog will follow and become 
deeply interested in what you are do- 
ing. Gradually he will assist in the 
driving without appearing to do so. 
Continue to use the hand and arm 
signals as indicated in the prelimi- 
nary lessons. In windy weather the 
dog will see the signals when he could 
not hear your voice or the sound of 
the whistle. If perchance, the stock 
is on a wide plain and scattered, the 
dog may be so far away that he may 



The Farmer's Dog 111 

not even see the motion of the arm. 
It is well, therefore, as an aid in 
catching the signals, to use a red or 
white handkerchief in giving them. 
Red can be seen long distances and is 
distinctive. The motion in either di- 
rection will soon be understood. He 
must also be taught that the handker- 
chief held straight up means to stop, 
or "that will do." This should be 
done by the aid of the whistle to at- 
tract his attention; as he acquires 
more experience he will come to 
watch for these signals without the 
whistle, and it is then that distance 
will not make much difference, for 
whether he hears or not, he will un- 
derstand the signal. As before stated, 
if he is too impetuous, work him with 
the cord and use the word "steady!" 
and if he fails to heed, give the cord a 
sharp jerk, repeating the command. 
The puppy should not be given too 
much work until he has the strength 
and speed to circle the flock. If he 
lacks in these ^qualities he will run 
straight and frighten the sheep, 



112 The Farmer s Dog 

whereas he should be taught by the 
motions of the arm to circle them 
and come in front in order to turn 
them. Collies of the working types 
usually take to this work very readily, 
while Airedales are inclined to be too 
headlong at first, hence the check 
cord must always be ready for use. 
Once they become accustomed to the 
work, however, and understand your 
commands, they will work as well as 
any of the shepherd varieties. Al- 
ways remember, however, that the 
rashness of the ebullient young dog 
must be regulated, not by whipping, 
but by the use of the collar and check 
cord, and words of reprimand. This 
is but the natural excess of zeal that 
any healthy young dog of promising 
qualities displays. When he has 
learned fully to obey the command 
"Steady!" there will be little further 
trouble with him, but until he has 
learned these commands, extreme 
caution and patience are essential. 
If it is feasible to take a small flock on 



The Farmer s Dog 



113 



a ienced road or lane progress will 
be made even much more rapidly. 




THE SHEPHERD DOG, BUDDY OF 
SWIFT RUN, 



The next step is to teach the pupil 
to "speak" to the sheep if you wish 
to have them hurried along. This 
could have been taught him in his 



114 The Farmer s Dog 



yard training lessons, by holding 
some bit to eat just out of his reach 
and commanding him to "Speak!" 
All puppies will soon learn this, then 
when it comes to the practical work 
all that is necessary is to give the 
command to "Speak!" at the same 
time urging him to "Hie on!" in the 
direction you wish him to go — that 
is, toward the sheep — to urge them to 
greater speed in crossing a creek or 
railroad. After the dangerous cross- 
ing is passed you do not wish to have 
him continue barking, in which event 
give the command "quiet!" making 
a motion toward him until he learns 
that when he hears the word "quiet" 
he must desist. These terms, "quiet" 
and "steady," are very convenient 
after the dog is once broken, if at 
times he should become too turbulent 
with his charges and crowd them too 
much. After a little practice it will 
be easy to send the dog from one side 
of the flock to the other. To do this 
he should then be taught to pass up 
along the side of the flock. This is 



The Farmer s Dog 115 

also done by a motion of the arm, in- 
dicating the direction, or if he does 
not understand, give him a start by 
throwing a stick or other object where 
he is expected to go, and giving the 
command, "Up !", "Forward !" or any 
other suitable word, repeating the 
motion of the hand until he under- 
stands. This, naturally, will take 
/Some practice and the trainer must 
not lose patience. The dog may go 
only part of the way, or he may not 
understand, but the motion must be 
repeated and also the command, and 
sometimes it is necessary for the 
trainer to go part of the way, mo- 
tioning and giving the command until 
the dog goes the full length on one 
side of the flock. By degrees he will 
reach the head of the flock and per- 
haps go partly around it. The trainer 
should then quickly change his posi- 
tion, going to the left side of the 
sheep. If the dog is not too far off he 
will notice the change in the trainer's 
position and it is more than probable 
that he will pass entirely around the 



116 The Farmer s Dog 

head of the flock, when he should be 
attracted by voice or whistle and 
ordered to come in, thus he will come 
down along the left side after having 
entirely circled the flock. Should he 
go through this without error, praise 
and pet him and give him the same 
lesson when the opportunity offers. 
He will no doubt perform better the 
next time. A reward of a bit of meat 
is not out of place here ; as a matter 
of fact, the less punishment and the 
more rewards the dog receives, the 
more likely he is to perform his duties 
with alacrity. 

It requires a great amount of pa- 
tience to bring the dog to this kind 
of work, but perseverance will win 
out, provided you do not expect your 
dog to learn too much at one time. 
An experienced collie, one which has 
been thoroughly trained, will some- 
times run over the backs of the sheep 
when they are bunched, in order to 
head them when the occasion de- 
mands, but do not expect these fancy 
feats from your puppy all at once. 



The Farmer s Dog 117 

If he acquires it in time all well and 
good, if not, be content that he shows 
the speed and the intelligence to 
round them by going to the head and 
around the flock. 

After the pupil has mastered the 
lesson of passing up and around the 
flock, the next step is to teach him 
to herd them, in order to keep them 
from straying, or for the purpose of 
driving them from one point to an- 
other. This is accomplished by call- 
ing the dog up near you and giving 
a circling motion from left to right 
and right to left, giving the command, 
"Around them!" Possibly one or 
more have strayed farther from the 
flock ; such should be pointed out in 
order to have the dog make his circle 
wide enough to include the stragglers. 
In rounding up these, point them out 
and when the dog reaches them give 
the command, "Back!" and motion 
in the direction of the flock. It may 
be necessary for the trainer to go to 
the head of the flock himself and urge 
him on by the term he learned in 



118 The Farmer s Dog 

circling, but not under any circum- 
stances should the terms be alter- 
nated or confused, and furthermore 
the trainer must not become excited 
himself. Keep giving the command 
"Back!" until he understands what 
is meant. If the dog is ordinarily in- 
telligent, he will soon learn that this 
word means that the sheep must be 
gotten together in a closely-bunched 
flock. 

The dog should also be taught his 
place and to remain there when not 
in action either in the rear or the 
front of the flock. If he has been 
taught to drop in his preliminary 
yard lessons, this will be easy, for all 
that is necessary is to drop him 
where you wish to have him stay. A 
few reprimands, should he attempt to 
leave the place before told to do so, 
will be sufficient to recall his early 
lessons. It is advisable to give him 
an article of clothing to watch while 
he is thus dropped and it is surprising 
how the average collie, or shepherd, 
or Airedale will understand'this and 



The Farmer s Dog 119 

strictly guard the master's belong* 
ings. 

Occasionally the occasion arises 
when sheep must be driven through 
fenced lanes where, in order to send 
the dog to the head of the flock it is 
necessary to have him jump the fence. 
This can be taught by calling him to 
the fence and motioning him over 
with the words "Hie over!" then give 
the regular commands to send him 
to the head of the flock. If the dog is 
slow in learning to jump a fence, he 
must be helped or forced over while 
the command is being given by word 
and signal. 

Sometimes sheep are driven on 
roads along which the fences have 
many gaps through which the sheep 
might slip away, or there may be 
cross-roads down which they are 
prone to turn. When such an opening 
is encountered the best thing to do is 
to send the dog to this place and drop 
him, ordering him to "Hold them!" 
If a straggler should slip through in 
spite of this, the dog is ordered after 



120 The Farmer s Dog 

him with the command "Back !" As 
a rule, however, the dog soon learns 
to keep the sheep in line if he is sta- 
tioned at a gap or cross-road. If 
the dog has mastered these lessons he 
is well on the way toward making a 
good sheep-herder's assistant, but he 
is not yet an entirely finished dog. 



CHAPTER III. 

Training of the Stock Dog — Continued, 

A S the trainer comes to that stage 
•^ in the dog's education when he 
wishes to teach him to hold the sheep 
in front, it may be necessary to have 
an assistant to drive them while he 
goes on to the front with the dog, 
but failing in obtaining an assistant 
this may be accomplished by driving 
the sheep to a narrow pass. Once 
started, they will attempt to go 
through this. Here the trainer goes 
to the front with his dog, stops him 
in front of the sheep and commands, 
"Hold front !" extending the arms as 
if barring the way. The dog will 
watch you with interest and go into it 
with a vim, for dogs are imitators, 
and if the trainer performs his part 
properly the pupil will soon follow 
the example that is set. After he be- 
comes experienced in this, it is only 
a short step to the next lesson, which 



122 The Farmer s Dog 

is sending him to the head of the flock 
to "hold front," by extending the arm 
and pointing in that direction. After 
he reaches the proper place he is 
easily directed by swinging the arms 
to the right and left and repeating the 
command. When you wish to have 
him desist, hold one arm straight up 
and cry, "That will do !" 

The term, "Hold!" will be found 
very useful at crossings where others 
have the right of way. It is especially 
necessary on the prairies when an- 
other flock is crossing in front of the 
trainer's flock at right angles. It 
should be borne in mind that a flock 
with lambs always holds the right of 
way; this is an established usage. 
When the pupil has advanced thus 
far it is an easy matter to teach the 
liner points to "hold right" or "hold 
left." Only experience will teach him 
this, but the motion of the arms will 
indicate what is meant by right and 
left. When you want him in to do the 
driving, call or whistle him to you, 
commanding him to "Heel!" until 



The Farmer s Dog 123 

you have him in hand, then give the 
command to "Hie on!" and allow 
him to do the driving. It may be 
necessary for the trainer to go in front 
of the flock and leave the dog behind 
to continue the driving; should he 
attempt to follow, wave him back 
with the word "Heel !" and continue 
on, always, being prepared, however, 
to send him back should he leave his 
place. Encourage him to drive by 
giving the command "Hie on!" and 
should some of the sheep attempt to 
lag, the trainer should encourage him 
with the word "Speak!" This will 
animate the dog and cause him to be- 
come more interested in his own work. 
By practicing this for some time, al- 
ways going a little farther up alongside 
of the flock each time, the trainer will 
soon have his dog so perfect that 
even though he should go out of sight, 
the dog will continue driving. 

Whenever sheep take to a fence 
corner, or dry ditch, or water course, 
or seek refuge behind an obstruction 
of any kind, and refuse to move, send 



124 The Farmer s Dog 

the dog "Over" and "Around" them 
in such manner that he comes di- 
rectly behind the unruly ones. This 
will generally start them in the right 
direction. 

The next step is to "fetch" the flock 
to you or "fetch" them home. To in- 
struct him in this quickly and thor- 
oughly, take him to the pasture with 
you and give the command "Fetch 
them!" waving the arm in the direc- 
tion of the sheep and starting toward 
them, if the pupil does not under- 
stand. While walking in the direc- 
tion of the flock, continue repeating 
the command, "Fetch them." It will 
not require many lessons for him to 
understand what is meant by this 
command and you will soon be en- 
abled to get the dog to start the sheep 
and turn your back while the pupil 
does the work. Always be sure to 
use the same terms for each class of 
work— which I pointed out earlier — 
for nothing is so confusing to a dog 
as to have a command given in sev- 
eral different ways. If this rule is ad- 



The Farmer s Dog 125 

hered to, in time one can make a per- 
fect dog of any intelligent animal, not 
only of the strictly shepherd persua- 
sion, but also of various other breeds. 
It is the confusion of orders that do 
so much damage to the thoroughly 
trained stock dog, hence, in the event 
that the animal is placed in charge of 
another person other than his trainer, 
care should be taken that the new 
man understands the proper orders, 
for frequently it is the man and not 
the dog that it at fault, if the latter 
does not do his work well. 

The idea that it is necessary to have 
another thoroughly experienced dog 
along to teach a youngster is erro- 
neous. While a well-broken, steady 
dog is of some value, in most cases 
an illy broken old dog will only dis- 
concert the new one. Take the dog 
out alone for his lessons, follow the 
instructions implicitly and the reward 
will be realized in the thoroughly edu- 
cated stock dog which all agricultur- 



126 The Farmer s Dog 

ists who raise stock of any kind con- 
sider more valuable than any other 
possession about the farm. 

Dogs may be broken to take cattle 
and sheep to and from the pasture 
in the same manner as they are taught 
to handle sheep. Sometimes an un- 
ruly bovine of the male persuasion 
may be inclined to cause trouble, but 
the sagacious dog of experience will 
soon learn how to handle such a con- 
tingency. I had an Airedale on one 
occasion which gave a recalcitrant 
bull a lesson that he never forgot, 
when the latter attempted to show his 
unwillingness to be taken out of a 
pasture. The dog was Teddy the 
Terror. He is now an old dog, but 
in his prime he was one of the best 
all-round farm dogs imaginable. He 
was only another example of what 
may be done with an intelligent dog 
if he is handled properly. • 

I am hoping that all the good dog 
lovers of the rural districts may be en- 



The Farmer's Dog 127 

abled, through the perusal of this 
book, to develop another Teddy, 
whether their Teddy be a collie, a 
shepherd or an Airedale. 



TWENTIETH CENTURY 
BIRD DOG 

Training and Kennel Management 

By Er. M. Shelley 

"T^VERY owner and every person 
-^"* interested in bird dogs and hunt- 
ing dogs should have a copy of this 
valuable book. 

Into this book Mr. Shelley has put 
the best of his knowledge, gained 
from years of experience as a suc- 
cessful trainer and handler. It is 
authoritative and interesting, and it 
throws many new lights upon the old 
system of bird dog training. 

Containing many fine illustrations, 
and being handsomely bound in cloth, 
this is an attractive as well as useful 
volume that you cannot afford to be 
without. 

Price, Postpaid, $2.00 
SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

BOOK DEPARTMENT 

Butler Building Cincinnati, Ohio 



Every Bird Dog Fancier Should 
Have a Copy of 

The Modern Setter 

By A. F. Hochwalt 

A COMPLETE history. of the long- 
haired bird dog. Nothing has been 
left unsaid. Chapters on the Lle- 
wellin and Laverack setters — chapters on 
every family that assisted in making bird 
dog history — interesting anecdotes on 
field trials and field trial happenings — it 
is a complete story of the various breeds 
of setter, from their origin down to the 
present day. Bench show and field trial 
dogs compared; Irish and Gordon set- 
ters fully dwelt upon. 

No book on the bird dog has ever been 
written or is likely to be written that is 
as comprehensive as this new work. 

Size of book — six by nine; bound in 
silk cloth and gold lettering. Twenty-six 
full page illustrations; 239 pages of in- 
teresting reading matter. 

Price per Copy $4.00, Postpaid 
SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

BOOK DEPARTMENT 

Butler Building Cincinnati, Ohio 



A Splendid Book Every Camper Will 
Want in His Kit 

Camp Cookery 

By Horace Kephart 

Author of "Camping and Woodcraft," 
"The Hunting Rifle," etc. 

Illustrated with Pen Drawings of 
Useful Camp Utensils, Outfits, Etc. 

IF you want to fully enjoy your next 
camping trip, learn the fundamentals 
of camp cooking from a man who 
has spent many years in the woods. This 
instructive, valuable book tells you what 
provisions are essential; what utensils 
you really need; how to build and get 
the best results from camp fires; how to 
dress and keep game, fish, etc. Three 
interesting chapters tell you all about 
the preparation of meat, game, fish and 
shellfish. The author tells you just how to 
prepare cured meats, eggs, breadstuffs, 
cereals, vegetables, soups, beverages and 
dessert. Nothing has been overlooked. 

You'll enjoy your next trip to the 
woods much more after reading 
and profiting by the valuable sug- 
gestions contained in this book 

154 Pages Glothbound $1.50 



SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

BOOK DEPARTMENT 

Butler Building Cincinnati, Ohio 



Practical Dog-Keeping 

For the Amateur 

Written so as to be Understood 

By A. F. Hochwalt 

the eminent authority and writer 

rTIHE author has compiled in this 
-*- valuable book a mass of facts 
and information in a clear and concise 
style that can be understood by every 
one. He has avoided unfamiliar terms 
and used only words and phrases of 
our every-day language. 

All phases of dog-keeping are care- 
fully explained— the latest methods in 
feeding, conditioning and grooming — 
directions on care in case of sickness 
— observations on breeding — proper 
diets, and many other important sub- 
jects. 

If you own a dog and want to know 
the latest and best methods of caring 
for it, THIS BOOK WILL PROVE 
INVALUABLE. 

25 Illustrations 
Prices : Cloth, $1.50; Paper, $1.00 

SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

BOOK DEPARTMENT 

Butler Building Cincinnati, Ohio 



The Working Dog 
and His Education 

By A. F. Hochwalt 

ARE you training a dog? Is he 
responding to your methods? 
Are you satisfied with the results? 
Would you like to compare your meth- 
ods with those of famous trainers? 
Do you want to learn about their 
methods? — If you do — 

GET THIS BOOK 

Interesting chapters on the training 
of pointers, setters, foxhounds, beagles, 
Airedales, spaniels, and police dogs. 
Various systems are described, the best 
method of breaking faults and correct- 
ing bad habits are explained. 

It is the work of an expert, written 
so that the amateur may understand. 
Every rule in it has been tried and 
proven. You can rely on the direc- 
tions given to always produce results. 

Price, $1.00 



SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

BOOK DEPARTMENT 

Butler Building Cincinnati, Ohio 



What Sportsman's Digest Will Do 
Every Month for YOU 

// Entertains You 

with actual-experience stories of the great out- 
doors. Some of the most prominent sportsman- 
writers of the country are monthly contributors 
to SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST. 
Among them are such well-known writers as 
Morris Ackerman, Ben C. Robinson, L. H. 
Sweet, A. F. Hochwalt, Raymond Thompson, 
L. E. Eubanks, Robert Page Lincoln and scores 
of others. 

It Offers Valuable Suggestions 

in connection with your hunting, fishing and 
camping trips and enables you to profit by the 
experience of sportsmen who have made a study 
of these health-bringing outings. 

It Answers Every Question 

of every kind regarding the Great Outdoors. 
The Quizz Cabin will enlighten you on those 
points on which you are not entirely clear. A 
mint of valuable information will be found each 
month in this most interesting department. 

It Keeps You in Touch with the 
World of Sports 

even though you are busily engaged in the busi- 
ness of making a living. SPORSTMAN'S DI- 
GEST will quickly make you forget any worldly 
cares — seated by your fireside or on the front 
porch, you'll travel all over the country — men- 
tally — after big and little game and the voracious 
battlers of the mountain streams and lakes. 

Twelve Big Illustrated Numbers 
ALL FOR ONE DOLLAR 



SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

DESK B, BOOK DEPARTMENT, 

Butler Building ^Cincinnati, Ohio 



DOGCRAFT 

By A. F. Hochwalt 

Third Edition — Revised and 
Enlarged 

HERE is a book every sportsman 
will want to have in his library 
for ready reference — and study. It 
tells everything you want to know 
about dogs — 290 pages of expert in- 
formation. 

DOGCRAFT is a complete study 
of the various breeds of dogs ; their 
care and management in health and 
disease. You will find many interest- 
ing chapters on gun dogs, sight hunt- 
ers, house and watch dogs, pastoral 
dogs — and you'll find out just how 
the particular breed you are interested 
in should be trained and cared for. 

// you have one dog or a 
dozen dogs, you will want a 
copy of this splendid book 

Clothbound, $2.00 Paperbound, $1.50 
SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

BOOK' DEPARTMENT 

Butler Building Cincinnati, Ohio 



The Modern Pointer 

By A. F. Hochwalt 

fTIHE object of this book is to 
briefly consider the development 
of a dog which for many years has 
been one of the favorites of the 
sportsman, and which is likely to con- 
tinue so for all time to come. 

This is an interesting story of the 
short-haired dog and his rapid prog- 
ress in this country. If you are a 
lover of the bird dog, you'll want a 
copy of this book. It is six by nine 
inches in size, contains 162 pages and 
23 full page illustrations. Bound in 
silk cloth with gold lettering. 

Price, $2.00 per Copy, Postpaid 



SPORTSMAN'S DIGEST 

BOOK DEPARTMENT 

Butler Building Cincinnati, Ohio 



